North Didn’t Apology for Conflict in Yellow Sea

The UN Command in Korea and North Korea announced on August 6, 2002 in the Military Armistice Commission’ conference room, which is at the Panmumjum, that they would hold the 13th meeting of generals to discuss ways to prevent any armed conflict like the Yellow Sea Engagement in the future. The talk has been discontinued since November of 2000.

James Soligan (US Major General), a UN representative on hand, said, right after the meeting, “We strongly demanded the apology by North for the provocation in the Yellow Sea, the appropriate measures for the people in charge of the conflict and building-up of strong military trust to prevent future conflict. North did not show any other response than just listening. But North suggested that there is no obvious sae border, which it blamed for the outbreak of the conflict. They also said, regarding the sea border, more talks are necessary to root out the possibility of a future conflict.”

He also added, “We delivered to North our intention to investigate the Yellow Sea Engagement to determine whether or not North violated the Armistice Agreement. In response, North has suggested many proposals. But we will not disclose them considering future talks.”

Lee Chong-suk (Brigadier General), who participated in the meeting and is in charge of intelligence at the Office of Joint Chief of Staff, said, “North did not express any regret or apology as to the Yellow Sea Engagement. But we agreed on the need for more dialogues and dialogues will be continued.”

In the meanwhile, the UN Command notified North of our operation to find the lost solder in the Yellow Sea Engagement and pull up the sunken boat. It also proposed to maintain the radio contact and to hold a working-level talk during the operation in order to prevent any misunderstanding and relieve tension. The meeting started at 11 a.m. and lasted for one hour and fifty minutes. The UN Command sent a delegation of 4 and North 3 delegates.

Sang-Ho Yun ysh1005@donga.com