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| Axis of Evil |
| Seoul Fails to Get Pyongyang’s Apology |
| 2002-08-04 |
| South-North Korean talks have produced a fresh impetus for stalled inter-Korean rapprochement but at the apparent cost of the two Koreas collectively turning a blind eye to the most contentious issue. Although Seoul sent its delegation to Mt. Kumgang for the Aug. 2-4 working-level official contact with a vow to extract an apology from Pyongyang for the fatal naval clash in the West Sea, there is hardly a reference to it in the joint statement issued by the delegations of the two Koreas at the end of their three-day talk. 'Nother words, the commies said no, threatened to kill the South Koreans with ax-handles if they didn't drop it, so the South Koreans dropped it... In a press briefing, Rhee Bong-jo, the top Southern delegate, admitted that he had raised the issue over the naval incident at the initial stage of the meeting, calling on his northern counterpart to address Seoul’s three demands that the North promise not to repeat similar armed provocations, apologize for it and punish those who were responsible. ``Our demands were the bone of contention but Pyongyang repeatedly expressed its regret and promised to make efforts to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents,’’ Lee told reporters. ``However, the Northern delegation didn’t disclose what specific measures it would take in this regard.’’ They'll probably take stern measure with the persons responsible, like downgrading the medals they gave them... |
| Posted by:Fred Pruitt |