Roh Expresses Regret over Burning of N.K. Flags

President Roh Moo-hyun on Tuesday expressed regret over the burning of North Korean flags at an anti-North Korea rally as the communist country hinted that it would not take part in the World University Games in the South Korean city of Daegu, protesting against the burning of its flags by a South Korean conservative group on Liberation Day

After the South Korean president`s expression of regret, the North changed its decision and said that it would participate in the Summer Universiade. Amid conservatives’ strong protests, however, Mr. Roh`s action is expected to create a stir.

At a meeting of presidential senior secretaries and aides the same day, the president accepted the demand by Pyongyang for apology, saying that at a time when the two Koreas "get to the table for reconciliation and cooperation, it is not appropriate to have burnt North Korean flags and portraits of Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s leader," and added, "I hope such things will not happen in the future."

In a statement, a spokesman of the North`s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said that North Korea decided to send its athletes and a cheering squad to the World University Games in Daegu. "South Korea obviously expressed regret today, though a little bit late, and it promised to prevent such things from occurring in the future, the spokesman said and added, "We decided to participate in the Games with an earnest desire for reunification through reconciliation and cooperation of the two Koreas."

Through contact between liaison officers, the South Korean government delivered the expression of regret by the president and Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun to the North.

Earlier that day, President Roh ordered the Ministry of unification to express regret to the North, as the government does whenever Koreans defaced U.S. flags, and to take appropriate measures to make the World University Games progress smoothly.

At a news conference at the central government complex at Sejongno, central Seoul, on Tuesday afternoon, the Unification Minister said, "In a situation where North and South Korea turn to reconciliation and cooperation, we should make efforts to understand North Korean society, though the North also should understand diversity in South Korean society."

In a joint interview with media companies from Daegu and South Gyeongsang province on Tuesday, Roh explained that it is the fact that the two Koreas had hostile relations in the past and that in fact, the North is both an enemy and the opposite party at talks. He said that he did his level best, even prepared for criticism, because the Games are a very important event.

"North Korea responds too emotionally and aggressively to such issues. It is difficult to understand. Even in the past, the North took issue with trivial things, but in this case, we, I think, provided the North with an easy target."

Meanwhile, the conservative Grand National Party (GNP) criticized Roh, saying that it was absurd for the president to express regret as if he were being pressured by Pyongyang and without any proper measures to and any apology for the current ideological split in the South.

Conservative groups, including the R.O.K. Marine Corps Veterans Association, contended that the rally was intended to send a wake-up call to the Roh Moo-hyun government, which has caused social disorder and an economic crisis, providing aid to the North without principles.

Jeong-Hun Kim Seung-Ryun Kim jnghn@donga.com srkim@donga.com