By Ethan Kim
Los Angeles Times
(MCT)
SEOUL - North Korea on Tuesday released a captive South Korean fishing boat as officials in Seoul considered an emergency storm aid request from Pyongyang - gestures experts say may signal a new easing of tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula.
The 41-ton fishing boat Dae Seung 55 and its crew of four Koreans and three Chinese were seized last month when officials claimed that it had illegally entered North Korean waters.
The release late Tuesday came as the South Korean government reviewed a North Korean request for rice, cement and construction equipment to help with heavy flooding in August. Seoul's Unification Ministry said North Korea's Red Cross sent a letter to its southern counterpart over the weekend.
A senior presidential official said that the government is "positively reviewing the request" but that no decision has been made. South Korea in the past has excluded any items they believe could be redirected to military use.
Analysts expect Seoul to approve the rice aid as South Korea's rice reserves are high and the move is strongly supported by opposition lawmakers as well as civic groups.
Seoul officials last month sent two letters to Pyongyang via its Red Cross outlining its intention to provide $8.5 million in such humanitarian assistance as food and first aid kits. The list did not include any of the items in Pyongyang's most recent request.
The new dialogue between North and South comes as Pyongyang is set to hold its first major Worker's Party meetings in 30 years, an event that experts say may explain the North's recent conciliatory stance toward its traditional rival.
They add that Seoul also appears more willing to engage in dialogue following months of tension after North Korea in March torpedoed the southern patrol ship Cheonan, killing 46 crewmen. The North denies responsibility for the sinking.
By Ethan Kim
Los Angeles Times
(MCT)
SEOUL - North Korea on Tuesday released a captive South Korean fishing boat as officials in Seoul considered an emergency storm aid request from Pyongyang - gestures experts say may signal a new easing of tensions on the divided Korean Peninsula.
The 41-ton fishing boat Dae Seung 55 and its crew of four Koreans and three Chinese were seized last month when officials claimed that it had illegally entered North Korean waters.
The release late Tuesday came as the South Korean government reviewed a North Korean request for rice, cement and construction equipment to help with heavy flooding in August. Seoul's Unification Ministry said North Korea's Red Cross sent a letter to its southern counterpart over the weekend.
A senior presidential official said that the government is "positively reviewing the request" but that no decision has been made. South Korea in the past has excluded any items they believe could be redirected to military use.
Analysts expect Seoul to approve the rice aid as South Korea's rice reserves are high and the move is strongly supported by opposition lawmakers as well as civic groups.
Seoul officials last month sent two letters to Pyongyang via its Red Cross outlining its intention to provide $8.5 million in such humanitarian assistance as food and first aid kits. The list did not include any of the items in Pyongyang's most recent request.
The new dialogue between North and South comes as Pyongyang is set to hold its first major Worker's Party meetings in 30 years, an event that experts say may explain the North's recent conciliatory stance toward its traditional rival.
They add that Seoul also appears more willing to engage in dialogue following months of tension after North Korea in March torpedoed the southern patrol ship Cheonan, killing 46 crewmen. The North denies responsibility for the sinking.
"There is definitely some changing policy pattern in South Korea toward the North, but whether it is a fundamental change or just temporary remains to be seen," said Chung Young-chul, a professor at Sogang University's Graduate School of Public Policy in Seoul.
"But the South Korean government seems to understand that its hard-line policy toward the North has been more or less ineffective, especially with deepening relations between Pyongyang and Beijing."
The South Korean Blue House, however, downplayed any change in Seoul's policy.
"Nothing has changed in the government's policy stance toward North Korea," said presidential spokeswoman Kim Hee-jung. "It just means that we will continue humanitarian assistance through the Red Cross."
Seoul's assistance would mark the first significant aid package since the sinking of the Cheonan.
The North's return of the fishing boat also contributed to Seoul's new consideration of Pyongyang's aid request, analysts say.
"Seoul is realizing that direct South-North dialogue is needed," said Chung.
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