NK Shuns Responsibility for West Sea Clash

North Korea`s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland demanded that the western sea border be redrawn on the basis of the Armistice Agreement reached between the US and North Korea. This is taken by analysts as an attempt to up the ante ahead of the 7nd ministerial talks with the US.

Some say that it is part of the North`s strategy for the upcoming dialogue with the US agreed upon in the ASEAN Regional Forum in Brunei. But analysts say that the real intention of the North is to forestall the South.

South and North Korea agreed to hold minister-level talks following the working-level talks which is underway in Mt. Geumgang. North Korea intends to block the discussion on the West Sea naval clash in the proposed ministerial talks. In other word, even though South Korea calls for the North to hold accountable for the tragic event and to abide by the NLL, North Korea will avoid the issue saying that the NLL dispute should be solved between the North and the US, not between the North and the South.

The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland frequently mentioned the Armistice Agreement while denying the legitimacy of the NLL and emphasizing the importance of agreement between the North and the US.

It said that the NLL, which was drawn without consent of the North, one of the parties concerned to the Armistice Agreement, could not be seen as a legitimate sea border. It also added that South Korea was not directly involved in the Armistice Agreement, so South Korea should be ruled out in discussing this issue.

But North Korea`s argument to uphold the Armistice Agreement runs counter to its erstwhile attitude. North Korea did not come to the negotiating table when the American representative of the negotiation for the Armistice Agreement was replaced with a South Korean general,

Noting this fact, Lee Jong-suk, researcher in the Sejong Institute said, "Given that the Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, not the foreign ministry, raised this sea border issue, it is an expression of their hope that the West Seat naval clash and the NLL issues would not be raised in the working-level talks in Mt. Geumgang or in the proposed ministerial talks between the two Koreas. North Korea doesn`t seem to really want to redraw a new maritime border to replace the NLL."

Dong-Ki Sung esprit@donga.com