Ministerial Talk Fails to Narrow Joint Fishing Zone Differences

The defense ministers of the two Koreas agreed on November 29 during the second-ever inter-Korean defense ministerial meeting to set up a joint military committee to discuss military confidence-building measures and security guarantees for inter-Korean economic cooperation. The two ministers will meet again in Seoul next year to hold a third defense ministerial meeting.

The meeting, however, failed to narrow the differences between the two sides over a joint fishing area, one of the key agenda points of the meeting, because both have different opinions over where to draw the boundary for a joint fishing zone. The two sides will hold a subsequent meeting led by their generals to discuss the issue further.

In a press release, South Korean Defense Minister Kim Jang-su and his North Korean counterpart Kim Il Chol, announced a seven-clause agreement containing the above on the last day of the meeting held in Pyongyang.

The agreement articulates that the two sides share an understanding of the importance of establishing a permanent peace on the Korean peninsula by easing tensions and avoiding military hostility, and they agreed to work toward that aim.

The defense ministers also agreed to provide security guarantees for inter-Korean economic cooperation projects, including the Gyeongui cargo railway service connecting Munsan to Bondong due to begin operating December 11, a direct air route from Seoul to Mt. Baekdu, the joint development of the Han River estuary, and a direct sea lane to Haeju for North Korean shipping. Details of the necessary measures for these projects will be discussed at a working-level talk.

The defense ministerial meeting reaffirmed the principle of non-use of military force and peaceful resolution of conflicts between the two Koreas, and the two sides promised to make a joint effort to find the remains of those who died during the Korean War.

The third defense ministerial meeting scheduled to be held in Seoul next year will be a first step toward making an inter-Korean defense ministerial meeting a regular one. Setting up a joint military committee, promised in the 1992 agreement yet still not fulfilled, will serve as a venue to discuss military confidence-building measures and measures to ease tensions between the two Koreas.

The South Korean delegation, led by Kim, traveled on a chartered plane and landed off Sunan airport in Pyongyang after a three-day stay. Flying on the West Sea direct air route, the team landed at Gimpo airport yesterday.

ysh1005@donga.com