SKorea wants talks on restarting tours to North Nov 18, 2008
Last week, the North announced it would ban border crossings starting Dec. 1, a measure that could mean the shutdown of a joint industrial complex in the North Korean border town of Kaesong, as well as a city tour of the city that served as the capital of the Koryo Dynasty. The two Koreas technically remain at war because the 1950-53 Korean conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. (International Herald Tribune)
* S Korean opposition party visits North Nov 16, 2008
The ban could force the closure of dozens of South Korean factories operating at a joint industrial park in the Norths border city of Kaesong X a symbolic rejection of South Korean efforts since 2000 to foster reconciliation through commerce ... The Kaesong complex, where South Korean factories employ some 35,000 North Koreans, has been a key source of currency for the impoverished North. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
North Korea stokes another crisis Nov 15, 2008
That move would force the suspension of all activity at the Kaesong industrial complex, where more than 80 South Korean companies employ 35,000 North Korean workers in turning out light industrial products in what has been the most promising sign of North-South rapprochement ... On top of all that, North Korea also cut off the emergency line by which Red Cross officials on both sides have been able to communicate at the truce village of Panmunjom, next to Kaesong - a gesture that is viewed in... (Asia Times Online)
* South Korea to resume aid despite tensions Nov 14, 2008
A total border closure would cripple the Seoul-funded Kaesong industrial complex, a joint project built in the North as a symbol of reconciliation ... But it was also furious at the spreading of propaganda leaflets across the border by Seoul activists, and has previously threatened to expel South Koreans from Kaesong in protest ... The high-level military delegation made the comments during a rare inspection of a joint industrial park in Kaesong last week, South Koreas Chosun Ilbo newspaper... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World Business)
North Korea to shut border with South Nov 13, 2008
Analysts called it a political move designed to humiliate Seoul by hobbling a joint industrial park in the city of Kaesong, just across the border, that has served as a beacon of hope for reconciliation ... Paik said Pyongyang may use Kaesong to humiliate Seoul ... Shutting down Kaesong would be a "serious blow to South Korean politics. It will start off a debate what went wrong with North Korea policy.". (MSNBC -- International)
North Korea to bar taking of nuclear samples Nov 13, 2008
For 80 South Korean factories whose operations are now threatened at Kaesong, and for dozens more whose plans to open plants there are on hold, the rising tension highlights the perils of doing business with the Communist North, said Kim Kyu Chol, head of the Forum of Inter-Korean Relations, a civic group that studies economic projects between the two Koreas. . (International Herald Tribune)
North Korea hits back at balloon activism from South Nov 13, 2008
The decision would mean the suspension of activity at the industrial zone of Kaesong, where 35,000 North Koreans work at more than 80 South Korean factories ... Mr. Ha, however, fears the balloon campaign may have an adverse effect if it results in the closure of the Kaesong zone and a reversal of North-South reconciliation efforts initiated by then-President Kim Dae Jung after his inauguration in 1998 ... Mr. Paik says the shutdown of the Kaesong complex would be "a real serious blow to... (Christian Science Monitor)
SKorea urges NKorea to develop industrial zone Nov 13, 2008
South Korea set up the sprawling complex in the North's border city of Kaesong during reconciliation moves in recent years ... Analysts said the threat appeared to be designed to humiliate South Korea whose new government has vowed to get tough on the North by hobbling the Kaesong project that has served as a beacon of hope for reconciliation ... South Korea sent a fax to the North on Wednesday saying the neighbors "should maintain and develop Kaesong industrial park," Defense Ministry spokesman... (AL.com)
NKorea to close border with SKorea Nov 12, 2008
A total closure of the heavily fortified border would effectively shut down the Seoul-funded Kaesong industrial complex built just north of the frontier as a symbol of reconciliation. It would also halt a popular tourist trip to Kaesong city ... Wednesday's announcement follows months of icy relations, including threats by the North to expel South Koreans from Kaesong in protest at the spreading of cross-border propaganda leaflets by Seoul activists. (Yahoo News -- Top Stories)
NKorea's showcase capital undergoing facelift Nov 12, 2008
Orascom's investment commitments if fulfilled would exceed the entire cumulated investment in a joint South-North industrial zone in Kaesong just across the border in North Korea, according to Noland of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. North Korea in recent years has opened the ancient border city of Kaesong as well as a famous resort to foreign tourists, mostly South Koreans. (San Diego Union-Tribune -- Business)
* North Korea threatens to close borders Nov 12, 2008
Prohibiting passage through the Demilitarized Zone would primarily affect South Korean firms operating factories in an inter-Korean business complex in Kaesong and would halt tours to the ancient city, which receives about 200 South Korean visitors daily ... South Korean tour operator Hyundai Asan Corp said it has not received any notification from the North about halting its year-old program offering tours of Kaesong ... Kaesong is home to more than 80 South Korean factories that employ about... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World Business)
NKorea threatens to turn SKorea into 'debris'... Oct 28, 2008
At those talks, the North again threatened to evict South Koreans from the Kaesong joint industrial complex unless Seoul stops the cross-border leaflets ... But Seoul-based private groups have continued their leaflet drops, despite pleas from the South Korean government and from businesses with factories in Kaesong. (The Drudge Report)
* World News Quick Take Oct 24, 2008
The five-day-a-week service links the country to North Koreas Kaesong industrial estate, a Seoul-run operation just north of the heavily fortified border. Ministry officials said businesses at Kaesong prefer to use trucks for transporting materials. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
North Korea threatens to freeze ties with South Oct 16, 2008
Other civilian exchanges have proceeded, including another tour program to the North's ancient border city of Kaesong and a joint factory park nearby. The three programs have been considered prominent symbols of inter-Korean reconciliation. (AL.com)
* South and North Koreas reconciliation attempt fizzles Oct 3, 2008
Pyongyang threatened to evict all South Korean staff from a joint industrial estate at Kaesong unless Seoul stops the cross-border propaganda, the defense ministry said. The Norths side said that our people could not stay in Kaesong and Kumgang [resort. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
North Korea demands end to propaganda from South Oct 3, 2008
The two projects, an industrial park in the northern border town of Kaesong and a resort at scenic Diamond Mountain, have been lucrative sources of cash for impoverished North Korea and prominent symbols of reconciliation on the divided peninsula ... If the propaganda continues, North Korean military officials warned that it would be "impossible" to allow South Koreans working at Diamond Mountain and in Kaesong to remain, the agency reported. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Science)
China to let groups tour N Korea Sep 3, 2008
South Korean tourists still visit the historic North Korean town of Kaesong. Chinese tourists have been able to take day-trips across the Yalu river to the North Korean city of Sinuiji, but the new ruling will allow far more Chinese to travel and stay in the traditionally closed state. (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
SKorean CEO Quit over Tourist Death Aug 28, 2008
Along with its tours to Diamond Mountain, it also sends tourists to the North's border city of Kaesong. The Diamond mountain program has been suspended since the shooting, but the Kaesong program is still running. (Time.com)
Big dreams for North Korean industrial park Aug 21, 2008
Hyundai Asan's president Kim Yun Kyu, left, with a North Korean business partner, Park Chang Ryon, and Kim Jin Ho of Korea Land during a ground-breaking ceremony in June 2004 for industrial park in Kaesong ... The Kaesong Industrial Park is worlds away from the North Korean city on whose outskirts it sits ... Despite its isolation and prisonlike feel, the Kaesong Industrial Park is booming with construction. (International Herald Tribune -- Money Report)
N. Korea to Expel S. Koreans From Tourist Resort Aug 4, 2008
South Korea has also suspended the tour program and said it could put on hold a separate tour program to the North's western border city of Kaesong if strict safety measures for visitors are not assured. The North has claimed the woman strayed into a restricted military area while strolling on a beach before dawn and refused to comply with a soldier's order to halt, instead running away before being shot twice. (Fox News)
US envoy cancels trip to North Korea Jul 21, 2008
Jay Lefkowitz had planned to visit the Kaesong complex, just north of the heavily fortified border dividing the peninsula, this week but he "voluntarily withdrew his plan," Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Ho-nyeon told The Associated Press. A U.S. Embassy official in Seoul said Lefkowitz would not visit South Korea for a trip to Kaesong ... South Korea has since suspended the Diamond Mountain tour program and said it could put on hold a separate tour program to Kaesong if strict safety... (Mattoon Journal-Gazette, IL)
An elusive new face for North Korea Jul 19, 2008
According to Noland, ventures that depend on South Korean private enterprise, such as the Mount Kumkang tourist zone or the Kaesong economic zone beside the truce village of Panmunjom, "may or may not have broader impact". Still, Noland insisted it was "important to avoid a top-down approach" and "emphasize development and engagement by the private sector" in a process that would encourage market forces. (Asia Times Online)
Official: SKorea mulls halting other NKorea tours Jul 18, 2008
South Koreans can also visit North Korea on a separate tour to the border city of Kaesong, for one-day trips that depart from Seoul. Officials at Friday's meeting agreed that the Kaesong tours would also be put on hold if strict safety measures for visitors were not assured, presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan told reporters. (International Herald Tribune)
N Korea worker killed in Kaesong Jul 18, 2008
Some 30,000 workers are employed in the Kaesong complex. A North Korean worker was killed and four others were injured in an accident in the Kaesong industrial complex in North Korea, Southern officials said. (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
South Korean offer to North marred by shooting Jul 13, 2008
He had also ruled out expanding joint economic projects already under way, like Kaesong, an industrial complex north of Seoul and a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation ... Calling Lee a "sycophant" and a "traitor," the North cut off all official dialogue with the South, ordered South Korean officials to leave Kaesong, and demanded that Lee declare that he would honor the agreements ... Cho said that Lee had disappointed many conservative supporters, including aging South Koreans who were... (International Herald Tribune)
A day in the bosom of the Dear Leader Jul 3, 2008
KAESONG, North Korea - "So you think you could get by with it?" asked a North Korean customs official, who was glancing at the monitor as my backpack was passing through the X-ray scanner at the North Korean border, near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) ... I was in a hurry that morning to catch the chartered bus in Seoul that leaves for the North's city Kaesong, and I had forgotten to clear my backpack in which I usually carry a variety of laptop computer gadgets ... Even though the two Koreas face... (Asia Times Online)
NKorea accuses SKorea of endangering the future of two key reconciliation projects Jun 22, 2008
The North Korean military claimed the South is refusing to implement last year's agreement to improve the projects a tour program to the North's scenic Diamond Mountain and a joint venture industrial park in the North Korean border city of Kaesong ... "The economic cooperation and exchange projects in Kaesong and Diamond Mountain are encountering a serious crisis.". (International Herald Tribune -- Travel)
Koreas not eye-to-eye on Vision 3000 May 14, 2008
He repeats that he does not want to stop ongoing projects, including the controversial Kaesong Industrial Park, but he also says that further increases in aid would be impossible without serious concessions from the North. Such positions led to outbursts of verbal abuse from the North, as well as to some demonstrative gestures, such as the expulsion of South officials from Kaesong Industrial Park, missile launches and fighter jet flights near the border ... The workshops of the Kaesong... (Asia Times Online)
South Korea's Sunshine policy strikes back May 7, 2008
Currently, there are 69 South Korean companies in the North's Kaesong Industrial Park, where South Korean companies employ 30,000 North Koreans ... "North Korea is a regime that can be toppled peacefully on a long-term basis by South Koreans working together with North Koreans side by side. Projects like Kaesong are good. We need more. The more the better," Lankov told Asia Times Online at his office in Seoul, adding, "If I were the Dear Leader, I would ... " He didn't finish the sentence. (Asia Times Online)
More Top Stories Asia Pacific Headlines Apr 18, 2008
A furious Pyongyang has threatened to turn its neighbor into "ashes" after kicking South Korean officials out of a joint industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong. Bush and Lee would discuss the latest efforts being made to prod North Korea to disband its nuclear weapons program under an aid-for-denuclearization pact adopted by the United States, China, the two Koreas, Japan and Russia. (Yahoo! Asia News)
* South Korean president remains calm despite recent tension with the North Apr 14, 2008
Tensions mounted after the North kicked South Korean officials out of a joint industrial complex at Kaesong on March 27. The next day, it test-fired missiles and alleged Seoul had breached the sea border. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
North keeps out South Korean officials Apr 12, 2008
"The North also stopped another official from the Public Procurement Service from visiting the resort Thursday night,'' Seoul's unification ministry spokesman said. Some 200 South Korean workers are building the centre, which was expected to be complete in August. Earlier in the week, a South Korean official from the same agency was barred from entering a joint industrial complex in the North's border city of Kaesong, the spokesman said. The official had been supervising work on expanding the... (NEWS.com.au)
Pyongyang shoots itself in the foot Apr 5, 2008
The latest North Korean salvo at Japan comes on the heels of a bluster barrage over the course of the past week, from expelling 11 of 13 South Korean officials from the Kaesong Industrial Complex, firing missiles into the West Sea, calling out South Korean President Lee Myung-bak by name, and threatening South Korea with preemptive nuclear attack: "Everything will be in ashes, not just a sea of fire, once our advanced pre-emptive strike begins.". Such fits fall in line with North Korea's pattern... (Asia Times Online)
N. Korea threatens Lee's election hopes Apr 5, 2008
On March 27, when election campaigning kicked off, North Korea expelled South Korean officials from the Kaesong industrial site, a symbol of economic cooperation between the two Koreas under the previous administration of President Roh Moo-hyun. On March 28, North Korea test-fired three short-range missiles into the Yellow Sea. (The Daily Yomiuri)
Lee stumbles out of the starting block Apr 4, 2008
Pyongyang's expulsion of South Korean officials in the Kaesong joint economic venture may mark the first in a series of North Korean tests of the new president. But balanced against these challenges will be significant improvements in Seoul's relationships with the US and Japan, allowing for greater policy integration and leverage over North Korea. (Asia Times Online)
Pyonyang suspends S Korea talks Apr 4, 2008
Two Seoul-funded projects in the North - the Kumgang resort and the Kaesong industrial complex - are major hard currency earners for North Korea. Source: Agencies. (Aljazeera.Net)
North Korea turns up heat on Cold war frontier Apr 3, 2008
A South Korean working at the Kaesong industrial park said by telephone: "There has been no change in operations here.". WAR OF WORDS. (International Herald Tribune -- Business)
N Korea hits out at South leader Apr 1, 2008
North Korea has expelled South Korean managers from Kaesong. But since he took office in February, Lee Myung-bak has turned away from the aid-led "Sunshine Policy" of his predecessors. (BBC News)
Seoul Steps Up Apr 1, 2008
Pyongyang also booted 11 South Koreans from the North-South industrial project at Kaesong. Only a month into Mr. Lee's term, it's still too soon to say whether his resolve will last. (Wall Street Journal)
Goodwill hopes fade on Korean Peninsula Apr 1, 2008
On Thursday, North Korea expelled 11 South Korean government officials working at a joint industrial park in Kaesong, North Korea. The move came after South Korean Unification Minister Kim Ha Joong threatened to withhold additional investment in the project unless the North made progress on dismantling its nuclear weapons program. (USA Today)
* S Korea has no plan to respond to North's threats Mar 31, 2008
The North on Thursday expelled Seoul officials from a jointly-run plant in Kaesong, the most important inter-Korean project and the most visible symbol of reconciliation, just north of the border between the two countries. The North also test-launched short range missiles off its west coast on Friday. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
North Korea sends a missile warning Mar 29, 2008
Although the North has yet to turn the full force of its rhetoric on Lee, the message came through clearly in the expulsion of South Korean officials from the special economic zone at the historic city of Kaesong, 60 kilometers north of Seoul just across the line with North Korea. Told they had three days to leave, 11 South Korean officials returned to the South several hours after getting the notice. (Asia Times Online)
North Korea test-launches short-range missiles Mar 29, 2008
That move was prompted by the North's anger over South Korean statements that any expansion of the project in the border city of Kaesong would only happen if the North resolved the international standoff over its nuclear weapons. Also on Thursday, South Korea voted in favor of a resolution at the U.N. Human Rights Council that condemned human rights abuses in North Korea. (Sioux City Journal, IO)
The Koreas: After the Music, Discord Mar 29, 2008
On Thursday, Pyongyang told a dozen South Korean officials working at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, a joint Korean economic zone situated just north of the DMZ, to pack up and go back to Seoul. " North Korea is ratcheting up the pressure," says Lho Kyongsoo, a professor of international politics at Seoul National University. (Time.com)
US warns N Korea on missile tests Mar 29, 2008
The Kaesong industrial park employs 23,000 North Koreans ... North Korea's actions came a day after it expelled South Korean managers from the Kaesong joint industrial park on the border. (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
N. Korea expels team of S. Koreans for criticism Mar 28, 2008
Communist North Korea, destitute and on the brink of a severe food shortage, made it abundantly clear that it does not want to be lectured to by South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, expelling 11 South Korean government officials from the Kaesong industrial zone, a booming factory park just north of the border ... Eleven South Korean government officials left the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Consultation Office in Kaesong yesterday, and five civilians remained. (Boston Globe)
* Pyongyang expels S Korean officials amid nuclear spat Mar 28, 2008
The expulsions were in protest at comments by a South Korean minister linking expansion of the Kaesong estate to the North's denuclearization, a spokesman for Seoul's unification ministry said ... It was the first time the North has expelled South Koreans since the Seoul-funded Kaesong complex was set up in 2005, following a landmark 2000 summit between the two historic enemies ... Kaesong is the most important joint project and most visible symbol of reconciliation between the two Koreas, which... (Taipei Times, Taiwan)
UPSETTING RELATIONS Mar 28, 2008
The predawn expulsion of the officials at the Kaesong industrial site, once hailed as a model of economic cooperation, is one of the most aggressive moves in years by the destitute North against its wealthy neighbour that supplies it with aid ... "The North cited Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong's comments that without the resolution of the nuclear problem, there won't be any expansion of the Kaesong project," the official said. (AlertNet)
NKorea raises stakes in nuke dispute with missile launches Mar 28, 2008
The North's decision Thursday to expel the 11 South Korean officials from the Kaesong complex, just north of the heavily fortified border, was in retaliation for comments by a South Korean minister ... Kaesong is the most important joint project and most visible symbol of reconciliation between the two Koreas, who remain technically on a wartime footing ... "The basic problem affecting the Korean peninsula is not the Kaesong Industrial Complex but North Korea's nuclear programme," Chosun said. (Yahoo! Asia News)
Sunset policyWill South Korea's new leader abandon the Sunshine Policy? Mar 28, 2008
The Kaesong industrial park employs 23,000 North Koreans. On Thursday, before dawn, North Korea summarily expelled 11 South Korean government officials from the Kaesong industrial complex ... Besides the Kumgang and Kaesong zones, there were ambitious plans for joint shipbuilding, mining, and repairing the North's crumbling roads and railways. (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
North Korea expels South's officials from factory zone Mar 27, 2008
The predawn expulsion of South Korean officials at the Kaesong industrial site, on the north side of their heavily defended border, is one of the most aggressive moves in years by the North against its wealthy neighbor. "You can see this move as North Korea trying to train the new South Korean government and put pressure on it," said Park Young-ho, an expert on the North at the South's Korea Institute for National Unification. (Reuters)
N Korea told 'time is running out' Mar 27, 2008
Seoul's unification ministry said the expulsions were made in protest following a ministry statement last week linking further development at Kaesong with the North's progress on its nuclear programmes. Only two South Korean maintenance officials remain at the industrial park the most visible symbol of reconciliation set up after an historic North-South summit in 2000. (Aljazeera.Net)
North expels South Koreans from joint industrial complex Mar 27, 2008
On Monday, the North gave Seoul three days to withdraw its officials from the Inter-Korean Economic Cooperation Consultation Office at the industrial complex in Kaesong, and Seoul brought home all 11 of them Thursday, Kim said ... The sprawling Kaesong industrial complex, located just north of the heavily fortified border dividing the peninsula, is a prominent symbol of reconciliation between the two Koreas ... Despite the latest setback, 48 South Koreans and five North Koreans still work at a... (International Herald Tribune)
S Korea Pulls Officials From N Korea Mar 27, 2008
The sprawling Kaesong industrial complex, located just north of the heavily fortified border, is a prominent symbol of reconciliation between the two Koreas, combining the South's technology and management expertise with the North's cheap labor. South Korea is still committed to ongoing economic cooperation with its impoverished communist neighbor because it would create opportunities for both Koreas, Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong said. (Time.com)
N Korea expels S Korean managers Mar 27, 2008
The Kaesong industrial park employs 23,000 North Koreans ... South Korea's unification ministry said 11 of the 13 managers at the Kaesong complex had been pulled out ... For the past four years, the Kaesong industrial park has been matching cheap North Korean labour with South Korean capital and management expertise. (BBC News -- Asia-Pacific)
Olympic clock ticks for unified Korean team Mar 20, 2008
Representatives of the two Korean NOCs met in Guangzhou in September 2005, where they agreed in principle on a unified team, in Macau in November 2005, and in December 2005 when they began a series of bilateral meetings in Kaesong, on the North-South Korean border ... During 2007 formal inter-Korean talks on a joint Olympic team took place in Kaesong in February, with more informal contacts in Kuwait in April and in Hong Kong in June 2007, but no solution. (Asia Times Online)
Getting North Korea to change its tune Feb 26, 2008
Hyundai Asan, one of the major companies in the group, is responsible for building the Mount Kumkang tourist complex and the Kaesong industrial zone above the demilitarized line in North Korea. The Hyundai group no longer includes such companies as Hyundai Motor and Hyundai Heavy Industries, the world's largest shipbuilder, both of which are the centerpieces of separate groups. (Asia Times Online)
South Korea to refer World Cup soccer dispute with North Korea to FIFA, news report says Feb 26, 2008
During a meeting at the North Korean border city of Kaesong, the North insisted that both Koreas use a traditional folk song and a neutral flag in the March 26 match, Yonhap news agency reported. It cited Yoo Young-chol, a spokesman at the South's Korea Football Association. (International Herald Tribune -- Sports)
S. Korean leader vows to reconcile with North Feb 24, 2008
The day before the election, Goh toured an industrial park in the North Korean border city of Kaesong where South Korean companies run factories using cheap North Korean labor. The project is a symbol of inter-Korean rapprochement. (Boston Globe)
* Sports Briefs Feb 5, 2008
The one-day meeting, the second of its kind, took place at Kaesong just north of the border, the South's Unification Ministry said ... A regular cross-border freight train service to a Seoul-funded industrial estate at Kaesong started in early December for the first time since the Korean War. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
* Lee Myung-bak faces party rebellion in response to proposed ethics standards Feb 1, 2008
The reopened 20km route runs between the South and the Kaesong industrial enclave it operates just inside North Korea and where its companies have access to cheap land and labor. South Korean rail officials said most companies in the industrial park still prefer road transport to and from Kaesong, which is seen as a model of future economic cooperation between the two Koreas. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- Business)
* Koreas mull cutting back cross-border train service Jan 30, 2008
SYMBOL: Running twice a day, the 20km 12-car train route between South Korea and the Kaesong enclave in the North only carries freight once or twice a week AGENCIES, SEOUL Wednesday, Jan 30, 2008, Page 5 ... South Korea runs a 12-car train on a route of approximately 20km between the South and the Kaesong industrial enclave it manages just inside North Korea where its companies have access to cheap land and labor ... Because the level of output at Kaesong it still low, companies there find it... (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
* N Korea proposes cutback in cross-border rail service Jan 27, 2008
The first regular service for half a century across the heavily fortified frontier began on Dec. 11, with trains carrying goods and raw materials to and from a Seoul-funded industrial precinct at Kaesong just north of the border. However, the service, which operates five days a week, has been carrying little cargo because factory owners find it more convenient to use truck traffic. (Taipei Times, Taiwan -- World)
A New Day for a Divided Peninsula Jan 25, 2008
Kim s sticking to the nuclear option would result in halting many aid projects vital for the North s regime survival: millions of dollars in tourism revenues, tens of millions of dollars in wages paid to North Korean workers at Kaesong Industrial Complex, a complete stop in the two-way merchandise trade. Lee himself warned that Kim Jong Il should not expect business as usual from the South. (YaleGlobal Online Magazine, CT)
Koreas hold first talks in new year to discuss cross-border rail service Jan 25, 2008
In addition, the South's Unification Ministry said it agreed with North Korea to hold the postponed rail talks on Jan. 29-30 in Kaesong, a border town on the North's side. Lee, who takes office Feb. 25, will be the first conservative leader in South Korea in a decade following two successive liberal presidents who have pushed for closer engagement with the North despite criticism they were too soft on the communist country. (International Herald Tribune -- Sports)
