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Presidential chief of staff Moon Jae-in on Thursday said Seoul is willing to discuss the controversial matter of the western sea border between the two Koreas if Pyongyang raises it at the inter-Korean summit in early October. Moon, who heads the South Korean preparation team for the summit, told the National Assembly¡¯s Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee one way to resolve the issue was by establishing a joint fishing zone.
Independent lawmaker Chung Mong-joon asked Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung, "Some people say it would be inappropriate for the defense minister to accompany the president to the inter-Korean summit¡¦" Here Moon butted in, "Can I answer your question on his behalf?" And he continued, "We can't rule out that the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea will be discussed, whether we want it or not¡± at the summit. Here Chung cut him off and moved on to another question.
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- Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung and presidential chief of staff Moon Jae-in (right) answer questions on the upcoming inter-Korean summit in the National Assembly¡¯s Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee on Thursday.
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But United New Democratic Party lawmaker Choi Sung raised the question again. "What is the government's official stance on the NLL issue?" he asked. Moon said there could be "some points on the agenda that we want to discuss and others that Pyongyang is expected to bring up, whether we want it or not." He added, "We expect that Pyongyang will likely bring the NLL issue up, whether we want it or not. In case it does, we are planning to deal with it just as lawmakers Lee Hwa-young and Chang Young-dal said a few minutes ago."
Earlier, Lee Hwa-young had proposed resolving the question by creating a ¡°marine peace park¡± in the West Sea, building a second joint industrial complex in Haeju, dredging the estuaries of the Han and Imjin rivers and creating an ¡°eco-friendly peace park¡± in the Demilitarized Zone." He said, "I think it desirable to propose turning the waters (near the NLL) into a joint fishery zone and opening a direct sea route to Haeju." Chang Young-dal had proposed helping fishermen from both Koreas catch fish peacefully in a joint fishery zone.
At the end of the session, Chang asked Moon again, "Will you suggest ways to use the NLL in a peaceful way?" Moon confirmed his own earlier statement, saying, "As far as the NLL issue is concerned, I can say that the government shares your position.¡±
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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