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As the South Korean government rejected a request by the wife of the late Rev. Moon Ik-hwan and other South Koreans to participate in the 10th anniversary of the death of North Korean leader Kim Il-sung, North Korea issued a statement Thursday regarding the delay of another civil group¡¯s trip to the North.
On Friday, North Korea unilaterally informed South Korea of a delay in the working-level maritime talks, which were scheduled to be held from Tuesday in Sokcho, through a phone message under the name of the head of the North Korean delegation of the North-South economic cooperative talks.
However, North Korea did not mention anything about the family reunions, which were scheduled to take place at Mount Geumgang on Sunday. The South Korean government and the Korean Red Cross expect the reunions to take place as scheduled. The spokesperson of the Unification Ministry said, ¡°We regret what the North Koreans said Thursday. In this situation in which North-South relations are developing steadily, unnecessary misunderstandings and criticism are not desirable for both the North and the South. We hope that this issue will not become an obstacle.¡±
(Kim In-koo, ginko@chosun.com )
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