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S. Korean aid for North

P. S. Suryanarayana

SINGAPORE: South Korea's Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung on Friday pledged greater economic aid to the country's northern neighbour in a renewed bid to encourage it to give up its nuclear weapons programme. The pledge acquires unusual importance in the context of North Korea's suspected short-range missile tests a day earlier. Mr. Lee told foreign correspondents in Seoul that economic cooperation between the two Koreas, "a basis for peace on the Korean peninsula, should be expanded." And, an improvement in the overall relationship between the two countries "is a cornerstone for peace on the Korean peninsula." He emphasised that the pledge to tone up ties with North Korea, despite its failure to stick to the April 14 deadline for shutting down a nuclear facility at Yongbyon, should be seen as part of "a positive cycle" of complementary actions required for peace. The two Koreas on Friday held technical level military talks at the truce village of Panmunjom, but they failed to reach any accord on steps to prevent clashes between the two sides along their disputed maritime border.

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