Pro-North Korean newspaper criticizes South Korea for being passive in inter-Korean cooperation
(Baonghean.vn) - A pro-North Korea newspaper in Japan on July 25 criticized South Korea for being too passive about cross-border cooperation, saying that slower-than-expected progress in relations was due to South Korea's "reluctance to drag its feet."
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| South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Photo: National Post |
The Chosun Sinbo newspaper said in an article: "It may seem like relations between North and South Korea are going smoothly, but the situation is not necessarily so."
Specifically, the newspaper asserted that the two sides failed to find common ground in recent negotiations on the cross-border railway connection and could not even agree on when to start related construction.
The paper also criticized South Korea for being “too indecisive” in other areas by using sanctions as an excuse to not fully engage in inter-Korean cooperation.
These criticisms seem to “dovetail” with North Korea’s recent proposals for South Korea to accelerate cross-border cooperation in various areas in the spirit of the historic April 27 summit.
The two Koreas have held discussions on cooperation in areas such as railways, roads, forestry and sports since their leaders met in April. However, sanctions have hampered comprehensive cooperation.
South Korea and the United States have maintained a tough stance that sanctions will not be eased until North Korea completely abandons its nuclear weapons program.
The newspaper also called for the repatriation of 12 North Korean restaurant workers who reportedly defected to South Korea several years ago, explicitly calling the process a “scam.” According to Yonhap, the women worked at a restaurant in the eastern Chinese city of Ningbo before defecting to South Korea in April 2016.
However, controversy flared in May when a local cable TV channel aired an interview with a restaurant manager who claimed he had tricked the women into defecting and that South Korea's intelligence agency was behind the incident.
Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in North Korea, recently called for an investigation into the allegations after meeting some of the women.
North Korea has demanded the immediate repatriation of these cases, but the Seoul government insists that all the women defected to South Korea voluntarily.
North Korean media recently asserted that the delay in repatriating the women could have a negative impact on plans to reunite families separated by the 1950-1953 Korean War.