North Korea has held onto its earlier position of not admitting to its responsibility for the 2010 deadly attacks against a South Korean warship and a sea border island at the latest inter-Korean military talks, Seoul’s defense ministry said Friday.
In March 2010, North Korea torpedoed the South Korean warship Cheonan near the Yellow Sea border, killing 46 South Korean sailors. Months later, it shelled Yeonpyeong Island, leaving four dead, including two civilians. In the wake of the sinking, the Seoul government imposed a set of sanctions against Pyongyang on May 24, 2010. The North has denied any involvement in the case.
The two Koreas held the first bilateral general-level talks at the truce village of Panmunjom in seven years on Wednesday and dealt with pending military issues, including the recent clashes near sea and land border regions, though no specific agreements were reached.
“During the military talks, the two Koreas discussed (pending issues) very seriously and prudently,” said a South Korean defense ministry official, asking not to be named. “We reminded the North of its accountability for the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong cases … But the North Korean side did not show any changes.”
Noting that Pyongyang neither acknowledged their responsibility nor expressed regrets or apology, he said the communist country “simply explained its principled position, indicating that it has much to say on the matter,” without elaborating further.
Dismissing Pyongyang’s repeated calls, South Korea has remained firm that the North should take responsible actions before it lifts the so-called May 24 measures, which effectively halted all inter-Korean cooperation except for the joint industrial complex in the North’s border town of Kaesong.
Asked about the South’s position over North Korea’s suggestions, which it said aim to ease tensions on the peninsula, the official said the North insisted that Seoul not cross the North’s own version of the western sea border, which the South does not recognize.
Though the Northern Limit Line (NLL) serves as the de facto maritime border between the two countries, the North has long disputed the line, claiming that it should be redrawn further south as it was unilaterally set by the U.S.-led United Nations Command at the end of the 1950-53 Korean War.
On Thursday, the communist country bashed Seoul for snubbing a set of proposals it made during this week’s military meeting, including seeking ways not to cross the sensitive sea border, stopping propaganda campaigns by sending leaflets and resolving issues via dialogue. (Yonhap)
