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[Editorial] South Korea’s National Security Law and North Korea’s Workers’ Party Code Can Not Be Viewed Separately

[Editorial] South Korea’s National Security Law and North Korea’s Workers’ Party Code Can Not Be Viewed Separately

Posted September. 06, 2004 22:26,   

한국어

As North Korea demanded last Saturday under the name of the National Reconciliation Committee, “Abolish the National Security Law if you want to resume North and South conversation,” the controversy over the law’s repeal has become even more complicated. The North’s demand is of course nonsense. It is requesting to “allow communist activities in South Korea.” Such a request doesn’t make sense when their Workers’ Party Code, which expresses its policy to communize the South, remains unchanged. Not only it is an intervention in our domestic affairs, but also it shows its intention to encourage conflicts between South Koreans.

Still, even Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, following President Roh Moo-hyun, is saying, “Abolition is the government stance.” If abolishing the security law is the trend of this era, the law may be abolished. However, what is important here is not whether to abolish it or not. What is important is the “connection between our National Security Law and N. Korea’s Workers’ Party Code.” The majority of our people, whether conservative or progressive, have believed for long time that “there should be changes at the same level in N. Korea’s Workers’ Party Code, in order to have our National Security Law changed.” Can we forget the connection this way?

Minister Chung said, “Since it is (our) domestic affair, it is not desirable to connect it (with N. Korea’s Workers’ Party Code). According to my knowledge, there were private discussions regarding the National Security Law and the Workers’ Party Code in the June 15th Meeting.” I hardly feel persuaded. I don’t know which government in our history has been this generous towards the North.

The minister tried to imply a nuance that it has been discussed in the meeting that the North will make changes in their Workers’ Party Code as well if we abolish our National Security Law. This, however, fails to convince us. Its Workers’ Party Code precedes North Korea’s constitution. North Korea’s identity as a nation, that puts the party above all, resides here. Experts unanimously agree that there is not even one percent of possibility that the North will amend its party’s code.

President Roh and Minister Chung should have given deep enough consideration at least once on this connection between the two laws before they insisted on the abolition. They should have requested at least once to the North to amend the party’s code at the same level. Because of such behavior from the president and the minister, some suspicions have arisen wondering if the government is trying to abolish the National Security Law in an effort to have a second North and South summit meeting.