N.Korea to Snub Inter-Korean Labor Talks Next Month

North Korea will snub next month’s Inter-Korean Meeting of Workers in Pyongyang to protest the South Korean administration’s policy toward the North.

South Korean labor sources said yesterday that Choi Chang Man, vice president of the North’s main union, informed senior members of South Korea’s Federation of Korean Trade Unions and the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions of the decision.

Labor groups of the two sides held working-level meetings April 10 through 11 near Mount Geumgang in North Korea.

Choi was quoted as saying South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is blatantly making comments that hurt the North’s pride on human rights and its nuclear program. The North Korean official said Lee is not interested in inter-Korean dialogue and is turning Seoul’s policy toward Pyongyang upside down.

The inter-Korean workers’ meeting has been held every year since 2001 to celebrate May Day under an agreement reached in the first inter-Korean summit in 2000. Last year, South Korea hosted the event for the first time in Changwon, South Gyeongsang Province.

surono@donga.com