South Korea plans to resume humanitarian assistance to North Korea and civilian inter-Korean exchanges to an extent that the move would not compromise the international sanctions regime, a government official said Monday.
The government said that it will sternly respond to North Korea's provocations but also does not believe that long-strained inter-Korean ties will help stability on the divided peninsula.
"The government plans to flexibly review (the resumption) of civilian inter-Korean exchanges to the extent that they do not violate international sanctions," Lee Duk-haeng, spokesman at the Ministry of Unification, told a regular press briefing.
This photo taken on Sept. 26, 2016, shows a group of South Korean activists calling for humanitarian assistance for flood victims in North Korea. (Yonhap)
Since liberal President Moon Jae-in took office May 10, expectations have been high that civilian inter-Korean exchanges would revive as he would seek engagement with Pyongyang.
The government under former President Park Geun-hye said it would continue to provide humanitarian assistance to those vulnerable in North Korea, such as infants and pregnant women. But Seoul has suspended almost all civilian inter-Korean exchanges since North Korea conducted its fourth nuclear test in January 2016.
Last year the government approved only the Eugene Bell Foundation Korea's delivery of medication for tuberculosis to North Korea.
Seoul's announcement came even amid heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula driven by North Korea's test-firing of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile Sunday.
The decision seems to reflect Moon's will to handle humanitarian assistances and exchanges in the nonpolitical sectors separately from geopolitical tensions sparked by Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.
On May 24, 2010, Seoul imposed sanctions banning inter-Korean exchanges to punish North Korea for the torpedoing of a South Korean warship.
At that time, the production from a joint industrial park and humanitarian assistance were excluded from those subject to the punitive measures.
In February 2016, Seoul closed down the Kaesong Industrial Complex in the North Korean border city of the same name in response to Pyongyang's nuclear and missile test early last year.
The government is not likely to hastily resume the industrial park or a joint tour program at Mount Kumgang on the North's east coast if there is no progress in the resolution of North Korea's nuclear standoff, experts said.
A possible resumption of those projects may spark a row over the violation of U.N. sanctions resolutions that ban the transfer of large amounts of money. The government closed the Kaesong complex on concerns that money generated from there is suspected of bankrolling Pyongyang's nuke and missile arsenal.
The volume of inter-Korean trade hit a 17-year low of $333 million in 2016, due mainly to the shutdown of the complex, showed data by the ministry handling inter-Korean affairs.
Seoul's unification ministry hinted at approving a request by non-governmental organizations for contacts with North Korea over exchanges.
About 10 agencies, including the Korea Sharing Movement, asked the ministry earlier this month to approve their plans to meet with North Koreans to discuss measures on assistance and cooperative projects.
"It is not desirable for inter-Korean ties to continue to be soured," Lee said. "In that sense, the government will review whether to approve (civic groups') bids for contacts and visits to North Korea."
Any trip to the North requires the Seoul government's approval, as well as the North's consent. The two Koreas are technically in a state of war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. (Yonhap)
