Yonhap
5/23/2007
Koreas fail to agree on details for swapping of raw materials, resources
South and North Korea on Wednesday failed to settle remaining differences over how to boost cooperation in light industry and natural resource development, the Unification Ministry said.
“The two sides just agreed to continue to discuss details regarding the issue,” the ministry said in a statement. The ministry did not provide details about when they will meet again.
Working-level officials could not agree on the list and price of raw materials the South is to provide the North in exchange for the right to develop natural resources in the communist country.
The North called for more than the South has earmarked for the shipment on the last day of the two-day talks held in the North Korean border city of Kaesong, according to South Korean officials.
Last month, South Korea agreed that it will provide raw materials to the North in June to help revive its threadbare light industry in return for the North’s natural resources. The two Koreas reached a similar swapping agreement in 2005, but it has not been implemented due mainly to the North Korean nuclear dispute.
In the agreement, the rice shipment, which will consist of 150,000 tons of domestic rice and 250,000 tons of imported rice, will be sent to the North late this month in the form of a loan to be paid back over the next 30 years with a 10-year grace period. Seoul hopes to link it with Pyongyang’s promise to take initial steps toward nuclear disarmament.
Last Tuesday, the South Korean government endorsed the spending of funds needed to provide rice and raw materials for light industry to North Korea. The South’s planned shipment of 400,000 tons of rice is worth US$170 million, while the provision of raw materials for light industry is worth $80 million.
In 2005, South Korea agreed to offer raw materials to the North to help it produce clothing, footwear and soap starting in 2006. In return, the North was to provide the South with minerals, such as zinc and magnesite, after mines were developed with South Korean investments guaranteed by Pyongyang.
But the economic accord was not implemented, as North Korea abruptly cancelled the scheduled test runs of inter-Korean railways in May last year, apparently under pressure from its powerful military.
Last Thursday, two trains crossed the Military Demarcation Line for the first time since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. But critics said the test run of two railways, one in the east and the other in the west, is not likely to lead to the formal opening of the railways or to rail services for a joint industrial complex in Kaesong or for tours of the North’s Mount Geumgang.
As part of efforts to accelerate the formal opening of the inter-Korean rail service, the South plans to sound out the possibility of providing raw materials via reconnected railways during the working-level dialogue or the upcoming ministerial talks.
Koreas hold talks on swapping of raw materials for light industry
Yonhap
5/22/2007
South and North Korea on Tuesday held talks to work out details for boosting cooperation in light industry and natural resource development, the Unification Ministry said.
The aim of the working-level dialogue, being held in the North Korean border city of Kaesong for two days until Wednesday, is to focus on procedures for the South’s shipment of raw materials to the North in exchange for the right to develop North Korea’s natural resources.
During the talks, South and North Korea are scheduled to exchange agreement documents, which will then take effect immediately since the two sides successfully conducted test runs of cross-border railways, a precondition for the implementation of the accord, government officials said.
The South also plans to sound out the possibility of providing the materials via reconnected railways in a prelude to the formal opening of the inter-Korean rail service, according to sources.
“We are studying various ways of speeding up the formal opening of the Gyeongui (Seoul-Sinuiju) and Donghae (East Coast) tracks. The use of the tracks for the promised shipment of light industry raw materials could be an option,” a government source said, asking to remain anonymous because of the sensitivity of the issue.
On Thursday, trains crossed the Military Demarcation Line for the first time since the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. But critics said the test run of two railways, one in the east and the other in the west, is not likely to lead to the formal opening of the railways or to rail services for a joint industrial complex in Kaesong and tours of the North’s Mount Geumgang.
Earlier this month, South Korea said it will ship the first batch of light industry materials to the North via ship on the Incheon-Nampo route, but the mode of transportation for the rest has yet to be decided.
Last month, South Korea agreed that it will provide raw materials to the North in June to help revive its threadbare light industry in return for its natural resources. The two Koreas reached a similar swapping agreement in 2005, but it has not been implemented due mainly to the North Korean nuclear dispute.
In the agreement, the rice shipment, which will consist of 150,000 tons of domestic rice and 250,000 tons of imported rice, will be sent to the North late this month in the form of a loan to be paid back over the next 30 years with a 10-year grace period. Seoul hopes to link it with Pyongyang’s promise to take initial steps toward nuclear disarmament.
Last Tuesday, the South Korean government endorsed the spending of funds needed to provide rice and raw materials for light industry to North Korea. The South’s planned shipment of 400,000 tons of rice is worth US$170 million, while the provision of raw materials for light industry is worth $80 million. The approval will be promulgated on Tuesday.
In 2005, South Korea agreed to offer raw materials to the North to help it produce clothing, footwear and soap starting in 2006. In return, the North was to provide the South with minerals, such as zinc and magnesite, after mines were developed with South Korean investments guaranteed by Pyongyang.
But the economic accord was not implemented, as North Korea abruptly cancelled the scheduled test runs of the railways in May last year, apparently under pressure from its powerful military.
