Seoul Eyes Aid-for-POWs Agreements
By Jung Sung-ki
Staff Reporter
The government is considering offering economic incentives to North Korea in return for agreeing to deal with the issue of South Korean citizens allegedly abducted by the North and prisoners of war (POWs) still alive there, a government source said Tuesday.
The Ministry of Unification recently reported the idea to the transition team of President-elect Lee Myung-bak, the source said.
Under the plan modeled on West Germany's inducement for the release of political dissidents in East Germany, Seoul could offer economic cooperation programs to Pyongyang in return for confirmation of life or death of the South Koreans in the North, contact with their families in the South, and eventual repatriation, he said.
``We've reported the plan to the transition team as part of efforts to resolve the POWs and abduction issue by giving the North what it wants,'' a ministry official said on condition of anonymity. ``The thing is how the North will respond to such a proposal.''
The government will deal with the issue of POWs and abductees during high-level inter-Korean talks in the future after establishing a separate dialogue channel between the two Koreas on the issue, he added.
The President-elect has pledged that the new government will put top priority on dealing with North Korea's human rights issue including the return of South Korean POWs, a topic that has been on the backburner for the past 10 years under the liberal governments of Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun.
The previous governments have been reluctant to handling alleged human rights abuses in North Korea for fear of damaging their engagement policy toward Pyongyang.
According to government records, about 19,000 South Korean soldiers went missing in action during the 1950-53 Korean War, which ended in a truce, not a permanent peace treaty. North Korean agents kidnapped about 485 South Koreans since the end of the war, it said.
The government estimates some 560 POWs are still alive in the North. Pyongyang, however, denies holding any South Korean against his or her will.