In an article headed "North Korea Finds Unlikely Ally: Seoul," the conservative paper said that while the U.S. was trying to increase economic pressure on Pyongyang, block nuclear proliferation and reduce the North Korean military threat, South Korea was busy keeping its former enemy afloat with aid and economic cooperation.

The AWSJ said Seoul was providing aid to the North because it believed that if the economically destitute and heavily armed North Korean regime were to collapse, the economic and political costs for South Korea would be enormous. It said most South Korean officials were opposed to measures that could destabilize Kim Jong-il's regime.

The paper said in a situation where military action was unrealistic, South Korea's policy of reconciliation tied Washington's hands. It said Pyongyang's two patrons, Seoul and Beijing, were hesitant to even consider economic sanctions out of fear of a North Korean collapse.

The ASWJ said friction between Seoul and Washington was particularly intense over the joint North-South Kaesong Industrial Project. In the first stage of the project alone, 300 Korean companies were scheduled to employ 75,000 North Korean laborers and invest US$9.6 billion over nine years. Along with international aid and trade, this would greatly ease North Korea's economic difficulties. The paper quoted Institute for International Economics senior fellow Marcus Noland as saying US$1-2 billion in funds a year was sufficient to keep the North Korean regime afloat.

(Song Eui-dal, edsong@chosun.com )