South mulling whether to fly North flag during Asiad
South mulling whether to fly North flag during Asiad
Yoo Jae-suk, Associated Press, Seoul
South Korean officials are jubilant that North Korea will send athletes to the Asian Games. But they're nonplussed about whether games organizers should fly the North Korean flag, a crime in the South.
Another dilemma is whether to play the North Korean national anthem at the quadrennial event in the port city of Busan. That would also violate the National Security Law, a key tool of South Korea's anti-communist, military-backed governments during the Cold War.
South Korea is a democracy now, and eager to welcome North Korean athletes as part of efforts to promote reconciliation on the divided peninsula. But the law is still on the books, and conservative lawmakers have stalled efforts by President Kim Dae- jung to reform it.
"If North Korea had ever allowed a South Korean flag to fly on its soil, we should allow it. But they never did, so why should we?" Chang Moon-young, a 70-year-old South Korean, said Thursday.
South Korean officials are mulling over what to do about the flag and anthem of a communist country that invaded the South in 1950, and dispatched armed infiltrators for decades afterward.
"This is a very complex issue. We must consider relations with the North as well as our legal system and public sentiment," said Kang Jong-seok, an official at South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles policy toward the North.
Ministry officials are consulting with the Justice Ministry and the National Intelligence Service, Kang said. Under the National Security Law, praise for or open sympathy with anti- state groups can lead to a maximum of seven years in prison.
During the 1980s, leftists in South Korea were often prosecuted for alleged pro-North Korean activities. These days, there are far fewer leftist activists and the security law is not widely enforced.
In talks with South Korea last weekend, North Korea agreed to send a delegation to the 14th Asian Games on Sept. 29-Oct. 14. North Korea has until now shunned international sports events hosted by the South, including the 1988 Olympic Games and the soccer World Cup in June.
The two Koreas are also scheduled to hold Cabinet-level talks in Seoul next week in a sign that their reconciliation process is getting back on track after months of tension. The United States and North Korea are also moving toward talks.
As Asian Games organizers await a government decision on the flag, all but one of the flags of the 43 Olympic Committee of Asia nations fly in front of their headquarters in Busan. The North's flag of red, white and blue with a red star in the middle is missing.
"If the North actually participates, we have to respect it as a member. But the decision is up to the government," said Choi Hyung-ju of the event's organizing committee.
South Korea expects the North to send about 200 athletes and officials to the Asian Games to compete in 20 events, including gymnastics, judo, wrestling and soccer.
North Korea has not yet submitted a list of athletes. The deadline is Aug. 30.