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South Korea is apparently wavering in its insistence that a planned joint fishing area in the West Sea should cover two equal areas north and south of the Northern Limit Line, which has functioned as the de facto sea border with North Korea. Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung made the potentially explosive remark at an audit of his ministry by the parliamentary Unification, Foreign Affairs and Trade Committee. Asked about the proposed joint fishing area by United New Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Hwa-young, the minister said that it could be ¡°inappropriate¡± for the South to call for the joint fishing area to extend the same distance from the NLL, or consider itself entitled to a same-sized share in the fishing zone under the reciprocity principle.
The unification minister¡¯s remarks are controversial since they hint that the government may accept North Korea¡¯s perennial demand to put the joint fishing zone south of the NLL, thus effectively moving the border south, at a time when public sentiment runs high at remarks by the president and minister that the NLL is ¡°not a border concept.¡± The issue is up for discussion at next month¡¯s inter-Korean defense minister talks.
Seoul has so far adhered to the equal-area principle in discussing a joint fishing area. Asked about the issue by UNDP lawmaker Chung Eui-yong, Lee answered the South Korean Defense Ministry supports the same-distance and same-size principle, while the North suggested ¡°several flexible measures.¡± But he added the two Koreas could reach agreement in several rounds of negotiations, hinting that Seoul could change its position
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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