by Theresa Kim Hwa-young

Seoul’s Unification Minister urges discussion over the northern border with North Korea, which has never recognised the frontier. But the military insists it is untouchable. Fresh aid from the South arrives in the North, devastated by the floods.

Seoul (AsiaNews) – Clashes within the South Korean cabinet are putting at risk the historic summit between the President and his North Korean counterpart, long awaited by the international community but also by the two peoples of the peninsula.

 

The clashes regard the Northern Korean border, which Pyongyang has never recognised: for the South’s unification minister, the issue “must be placed on the agenda for discussions with The North, as a goodwill gesture”, while the Minister for Defence defines the frontier as “untouchable” and attacks “those who undermine national integrity”.

 

The border was drawn unilaterally by the U.S. led U.N. Command in 1953 with the end of the Korean War. But North Korea refuses to recognize the frontier, defining it as “illegal”.  

 

For the moment, the two ministries show no sign of wanting to resolve the issue, despite the repeated appeals by the president and citizens who work for the peaceful re-unification of the peninsula.

 

Despite this, Seoul’s humanitarian efforts to aid the North devastated by floods continue.  Yesterday, the South Korean government announced they would be spending 30 million Euros on food stuffs and packages for the victims of the recent heavy rains and landslides, which left 300 people dead and over 300 thousand homeless.

 

 

 

• seoul
• pyongyan
• north
• south
• korea
• border
• unification
• peace
• floods
• aid