From the Korea Herald:
JEJU – The two Koreas yesterday agreed on a set of contracts to stimulate North Korea’s light industries and mining operations, but only when “conditions are met.” South Korean officials say the expression is a diplomatic term being used to describe the North’s obligation to allow the test run of trains on two cross-border rail links.
Economic delegates from Seoul and Pyongyang ended their four-day meeting on Jeju Island early yesterday morning, working out a nine-point agreement on various economic cooperation plans.
The talks were held against a background of hostility in the South following North Korea’s unilateral cancellation of the landmark testing of cross-border railways on May 25.
After marathon talks, the two sides managed to achieve a reluctant consensus on how to describe Pyongyang’s duty to revive the cancelled railway test-runs in return for a package of business cooperation deals.
The two sides resorted to indirectly referring to Pyongyang’s railway obligation by using the term “when conditions are met,” instead of using more direct language. Some observers said the “ambiguous” preconditioning leaves room for Pyongyang to pull out from the agreement later on.
The North apparently faces opposition from the military authorities who are apparently against opening the railways to the South. The North Korean military has demanded the two Koreas first conclude a full military guarantee.
“The implication of the agreement is that if there is no test run for the railways, there will be no economic support,” said Kim Chun-sig, spokesman for the South Korean delegation, during a press briefing.
Underscoring that the agreement is strong enough to encourage North Korea fulfill its part of the bargain, Kim said that the two Koreas would soon begin to discuss the military guarantees.
Based on the agreement, South Korea will provide some $80 million worth of raw materials needed for the destitute state to manufacture garments, shoes and soaps from August this year. North Korea will repay 3 percent of the loans in the form of minerals such as zinc. The interest rate was set at a low 1 percent.
The two Koreas also agreed to jointly develop North Korean mines and designate an organization to take charge of the project within one month from now.
Seoul officials argue that this agreement raises the level of inter-Korean cooperation to a mutual and commercial relationship from one-sided aid from Seoul to Pyongyang.
Other agreements included a joint excavation of aggregates in the Han River estuary that is located along the demarcation line, and to open working-level contacts from June 26-27 to discuss how to prevent the Imjin River from flooding nearby areas.
The two Koreas also saw eye-to-eye on advancing their joint businesses into third countries.
Another working-level meeting on the Gaeseong industrial park will be held from June 20-21.
The next Economic Cooperation and Promotion Committee meeting will be held in September in Pyongyang.
South Korean delegation was headed by Vice Finance Minister Bahk Byong-won and the North Korea team was led by Ju Tong-chan.
By Lee Joo-hee
From Yonhap:
The following is the full text of a joint press statement issued by South and North Korea at the end of their four-day economic cooperation meeting on the southern South Korean island of Jeju, Tuesday.
South and North Korea held the 12th meeting of the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee in Jeju Island on June 3-6, 2006.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed the issues to further develop the inter-Korean economic cooperation project in the interest of the Korean people in the spirit of the June 15 joint declaration, and agreed on the followings.
1. South and North Korea agree to adopt an accord on South-North Cooperation in Light Industry and Natural Resource Development and enforce it at the earliest possible time in favorable conditions.
2. South and North Korea agree to discuss and then implement a project to extract sand from the Han River’s estuary as military safety measures are taken.
3. South and North Korea agree to make necessary conditions for making the Kaesong Industrial Park globally competitive. To that end, the two sides will hold the second meeting of working-level officials for Kaesong industrial park construction and discuss ways of introducing an ID system, simplifying customs and passage procedures, securing a stable source of workers and building dormitories and convenient facilities to solve problems stemming from an increase in the number of workers.
4. South and North Korea agree to hold the first working-level meeting in Kaesong on June 26-27 to prevent flooding in shared areas near the Imjin River to review each other’s survey reports, discuss joint survey plans and ways of establishing a flood warning system.
5. South and North Korea agree to cooperate actively in preventing such natural disasters as flood, forest fires and yellow dust storms and discuss concrete issues at a working-level meeting in Kaesong sometime in July.
6. South and North Korea agree to discuss their advance into third countries in the field of natural resource development at a working-level meeting in Kaesong sometime in July.
7. South and North Korea agree to exchange economic observation delegations when an accord on South-North Cooperation in Light Industry and Natural Resource Development takes place.
8. South and North Korea agree to discuss and finalize the schedules of working-level meetings for fishery, science and technology cooperation, as well as a timetable for business arbitration committee talks, visits to Kaesong and Mount Geumgang and exchange of lists and other things, in the form of exchanging documents.
9. The 13th meeting of the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Promotion Committee will be held in Pyongyang in September 2006 and the date will be determined after consultation in the form of exchanging documents.
