Regards, Ivan
Posted on 03/10/2003 4:53:24 PM PST by MadIvan
A secret £320 million payment to bring about a summit between the two Korean nations was not a bribe, but an "expression of brotherly love", said the North yesterday in its first comment on the scandal in the South's capital Seoul.
Revelations of the payments by a subsidiary of the South Korean conglomerate Hyundai have led to calls for the former president, Kim Dae-jung, to hand back the Nobel peace prize he was awarded after the summit, and even to be prosecuted.
A vote by the National Assembly to order a special inquiry into the payments overshadowed the assumption of power two weeks ago by Mr Kim's successor, Roh Moo-hyun, who supports the so-called Sunshine policy of détente with the North.
The North issued a statement saying: "Hyundai's co-operation deserves the nation's appreciation. This should be regarded as our expression of brotherly love which cannot be purchased with any amount of money." The money, of which £120 million was paid immediately preceding the summit in 2000, won Hyundai exclusive rights to negotiate business deals with the North, including running tourist trips to Mount Kumgang, just north of the border, and an industrial park in the city of Kaesong.
The statement appears to be an attempt to persuade President Roh to veto the inquiry, which his supporters have said will damage further attempts to improve relations.
The Sunshine policy rests on the principle that the key to long-term peace is a calming of the North's traditional paranoia by business ties, transport links and reunions of families separated by the country's 50-year division. The statement also focused on a key theme from Pyongyang - that the obstacle to reunification is not its policies, but American aggression. "The US should admit its despicable crime and stop inciting North-South confrontation at once," it said.
The North says the crisis over its alleged nuclear weapons programme is trumped up by America as a pretext to attack once it has concluded any war with Iraq.
It has issued low-grade military warnings to America and the South, hoping to force the US to a negotiated settlement. Yesterday it carried out its second test-firing of a short-range land-to-sea missile in two weeks.
Regards, Ivan
You know, ya woodnt want sumpon to happen to your bootiful Capital City wood ya?
N. Korea throws a fit. South Korea's panzy super liberal leader comes up with a 'brilliant' idea. He bribes Kim Jung Il with almost $200 million bucks in cash.
Kim acts nice for a short while and gives the (old) leader of S. Korea some face and made it appear as some sort of 'breakthrough'.
S. Korean leader then wins Nobel Peace Prize.
It all looked so nice a hunky dory, that is until someone (supposedly a former S. Korean intel officer) brought the payment thing to light.
THEN it all started to make sense.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.