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A mystery proposal to North Korea the government says will bring substantive progress in resolving the nuclear dispute would guarantee the security of the North Korean regime and calls on the participants in six-party talks to provide large-scale economic aid.
Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who put the proposal to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il behind closed doors last month, disclosed its contents to reporters on Tuesday after a National Security Council meeting chaired by President Roh Moo-hyun.
The proposal is contingent on North Korea freezing its nuclear development program with a view to scrapping it entirely.
It calls on the other five parties at the talks to offer the North Korean regime temporary security guarantees once it freezes the program. They would become permanent once North Korea has demonstrably abandoned it.
Under the proposal, annual shipments of 500,000 tons of heavy oil suspended after North Korea's uranium enrichment program came to light in October 2002 would resume, with the cost shared between the five nations.
In the long term, South Korea would supply its surplus energy directly to North Korea -- reportedly 2 million kilowatts, or the amount that would have been produced by the two 1 million kilowatt reactors that were to have been built under the 1994 Basic Agreement between North Korea and the U.S. Construction of the reactors has been suspended.
Chung did not reveal details, saying they would have to be reviewed with the other parties -- the U.S., Japan, China and Russia.
"Since the U.S. has already agreed to our 'important proposal' and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has said he would carefully consider it, the relevant nations will express their opinions if the fourth round of the six-party talks restarts in Bejing in late July," Chung said.
"Ultimately, the proposal will play an important role in bringing a substantive solution to the North Korean nuclear dispute,¡± he added. ¡°The government will study multifaceted plans to minimize the burden on the people resulting from its implementation."
Meanwhile, President Roh was quoted as saying in Tuesday's NSC meeting the dispute was being resolved "little by little" as people worked hard under difficult conditions. "This isn't a time to jump to hasty conclusions or be overly optimistic, but more than any other time it seems we can expect things," he said.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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