Ruling Party Delegation to North Korea to Promote Joint-Economic Declaration

Ruling Party Delegation to North Korea to Promote Joint-Economic Declaration. April. 24, 2007 03:02. yongari@donga.com.

The Ruling Uri Party announced yesterday that its Second Delegation to North Korea, led by Rep. Kim Hyeok-gyu, will visit Pyongyang for the Northeast Asian Peace Committee meeting from May 2 through May 5 via the Gaesong Industrial Complex.

Rep. Lee Gwang-jae, President Roh’s closest aide, was newly included as a delegation member along with the delegation leader Kim, Rep. Bae Gi-seon, Rep. Lee Hwa-yeong, and Rep. Kim Jong-ryul, who were on the initial list of participants.

The leader Kim Hyeok-gyu talked on the phone with this reporter and said, “A concrete schedule and agenda for the visit will be decided within this week. We will seek economic growth by combining the South’s capital and technology and the North’s labor, and pursue measures to expand industrial complexes or to promote cooperation in energy, fertilizers, and food to launch a joint economic community.”

To this end, the South Korean delegation is currently setting up an interview with a ‘North Korean official who administers the North’s economy,’ but it has not been released who the official is.

When the schedule and issues are settled, the delegation will consult with related government agencies, including the Unification Ministry, and meet former president Kim Dae-jung and U.S. ambassador to Korea Alexander Vershbow to explain the reasons and purpose of its visit to the North.

Rep. Kim Hyeok-gyu remarked against the prospect that the South-North Summit will be dealt with during the visit, saying, “We will discuss only economic issues since political matters are not included on the agenda.”