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Unification Minister Chung Dong-yung said on Sunday, "We regret that underlying the respite in the inter-Korean relations are the issues of sending a delegation of condolence (to the memorial service of Kim Il-sung) and the transport to Seoul of North Korean escapees." On Monday, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon indicated a change in government stance on the North Korean defector issue, saying, "It's unreasonable to shift responsibility to the government when something goes wrong with NGOs' handling of North Korean escapees." Though the remarks are winded, the message is a declaration that the government intends to divest itself of the problem of North Korean escapees because it is a barrier to resolving inter-Korean relations as it thinks appropriate.
Does the government really intend to abandon North Korean brethren who have fled the Kim Jong-il regime's misrule and despotism, and who are wandering in China, Mongolia and Southeast Asia to survive for the purpose of resuming the North-South dialogue Pyongyang suspended unilaterally?
It's insane for North Korea to have protested against the accommodation of North Korean escapees who had crossed a river and sneaked through barbed wires in a desperate attempt to free themselves from abuses and starvation, and who are searching for ways of survival. Neither is it normal for our government to be dragged about by such an insane request. Is the government that has folded its hands behind its back while entrusting the lives of North Korean escapees to NGOs qualified to speak for the brethren in the two Koreas? With what sense of honor would the government be able to talk to North Korean brethren when the nation is united? What on earth is the North-South dialogue the government intends to resume by throwing out the lives of North Korean escapees as if they were some sort of prey? The government claims that "it is unable to take responsibility for the North Korean escapee issue because of a shortage in civil servants assigned to the problem." The government appears to be no longer ashamed of itself in the face of other countries.
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