(LEAD) N. Korea rejects S. Korea's calls for family
reunions
2012/08/10
SEOUL, Aug. 10 (Yonhap) -- North Korea on Friday
effectively rejected calls by South Korea to permit reunions of separated
family members by demanding an end (to) economic sanctions and resumption of
tourism to Mount Kumgang, sources said Friday
South Korea's Red Cross (not M of unification) said it sent a message to its northern
counterpart on Wednesday asking for working level talks to take place on Aug.
17 in either Munsan or Kaesong.
The last time Seoul officially mentioned inter-Korean
family reunions was on July 25 when Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik said the
tradition of holding family reunions around Liberation Day and Chuseok remained
valid and that South Korea will continue to urge the North to allow separated
families to meet.
N.Korea Praises Vietnamese, Chinese Reforms
Aug. 11
Kim Jong-un put forth a new development plan on June
28, sources say.
In a session of the National Assembly's Intelligence
Committee on July 27, the National Intelligence Service said the plan includes
downscaling the work units at cooperative farms; giving more autonomy to
factories and enterprises; and transferring economic projects monopolized by
the party and the military to the Cabinet.
Good governance or competing for rents? The closure
of the Taepung Group Aug. 10
One theory puts a positive spin on these
developments. The Chosun Ilbo interprets the demise of Taepung as a contest
between the North Korean military and the Party-dominated cabinet. After the
closure of the Taepung Group, “a separate foreign-investment body run by the Cabinet is expected to
become more influential. The developments are believed to be part of North
Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s
attempts to loosen the grip of the powerful military and give more power to
party technocrats.”
The Taepung Group was a product of the previous
governing coalition, and it is possible that Kim Jong-un simply wants to steer
the lucrative gate-keeper role to individuals with greater personal connection
and loyalty. Rents remain central to holding the North Korean political system
together; the question may simply be who gets them
U.S.
Relief Organization to Send Aid to Flood-stricken N. Korea
Aug.
11
A
U.S.-based international relief organization says it will send emergency aid
supplies to flood-stricken North Korea.
Samaritan's
Purse vice president Ken Issacs told Voice of America that his group plans to
deliver medical supplies, blankets and materials used to make temporary tents
by cargo ship, and they will arrive in six weeks.
Another
organization Mercy Corps is also reportedly planning a relief delivery.
The
groups, however, are not cooperating with each other in helping North Korea and
not asking the U.S. government for financial support, as they had done in
previous years.
Neither
the U.S. nor South Korean governments have announced plans to send emergency
assistance.
