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Seoul told North Korea during vice-ministerial talks in Kaesong it would make an ¡°important proposal¡± that could bring real progress in the North Korean nuclear dispute provided Pyongyang comes back to six-party nuclear disarmament talks.
Deputy Unification Minister Rhee Bong-jo, the head of the South Korean delegation, said, "If we don't maintain the principle of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, inter-Korean cooperation and reconciliation will be impossible." Rhee said he did not even tell the North Koreans what the "important proposal" would entail, but one government official said it was a "Marshall Plan¡± for North Korea including massive economic aid if the North gives up its nuclear program.
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South Korean Vice Unification Minister Rhee Bong-jo, left, and North Korea's head of delegation Kim Man-gil raise a toast after the first inter-Korean vice ministerial talks in 10 months on Monday.
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North Korean delegation head Kim Man-gil, a deputy director at the secretariat of the DPRK's Reunification Committee, reportedly had no reaction to Seoul¡¯s proposal. The nuclear dispute did not feature in Pyongyang¡¯s keynote address at the talks on Monday.
Meanwhile, Seoul reportedly told Pyongyang it will provide 200,000 tons of fertilizer aid, a similar level as in previous years, with additional aid to be discussed at ministerial-level talks it proposed for June. Pyongyang asked for an unprecedented 500,000 tons of fertilizer earlier this year.
"The North explained its pressing situation and asked for fertilizer aid out of brotherly love and humanitarian concern. It also raised the issue of food aid,¡± Rhee said after the talks. A government official said Seoul decided in principle to send rice aid but more discussion would be required to decide the amount.
The South Korean government also asked for an 11th round of reunions of separated families on August 15 and to set up a reunion center soon. The two sides also agreed that a delegation from the South will attend a ceremony marking the fifth anniversary of the Joint Declaration, to be held on June 15 in Pyongyang.
The two sides meet for a second round of discussions on Tuesday.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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