South Korea Expects “Positive Effect” on Ties After North Delisting

Text of report in English by South Korean news agency Yonhap

[By Shim Sun-ah: "Unification Ministry Expects US Delisting to Positively Affect Inter-Korean Ties"]

SEOUL, Oct. 13 (Yonhap) – South Korea’s Unification Ministry said Monday it expects North Korea’s removal from a US terrorism blacklist will positively influence inter-Korean ties.

North Korea said on Sunday it would resume disabling its plutonium-producing nuclear plant and allow in inspectors after Washington announced a decision to remove the communist state from the list.

“We hope it will bring a positive effect in improving inter- Korean relations,” Kim Ho-nyoun, spokesman for the ministry dealing with North Korea, told reporters.

“We are considering readjusting various (inter-Korean cooperation) programmes,” he said. The consideration is inclusive of Seoul’s delivery of food and energy aid to the North, he added.

He, however, did not specify further about the scope of changes.

Pyongyang cut off dialogue with Seoul after its new President Lee Myung-bak [Yi Myo'ng-pak] took office in late February and pledged to take a tougher stance on the North. Ties have deteriorated further since July 11 when a North Korean soldier shot dead a Seoul housewife who allegedly crossed into a fenced-off military zone during her tour to Mount Geumgang [Ku'mgang] on the North’s east coast.

Lee has vowed to link large-scale inter-Korean cooperation programmes to progress in North Korea’s nuclear disarmament.

Originally published by Yonhap news agency, Seoul, in English 0441 13 Oct 08.

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