South, North Korea talks end with little progress

South, North Korea talks end with little progress

BEIJING (AFP): The first day of North-South Korean talks here ended in deadlock yesterday, with both sides pursuing their own agendas on rice aid and an impounded South Korean trawler.

Delegations from both sides began closed-door discussions yesterday morning on a loose range of issues, including emergency rice shipments to relieve serious shortages in the North, economic cooperation and the fate of a Woosung 86 trawler captured by the North.

However, spokesmen from both sides made it clear that their priorities had shown no convergence.

"During the talks, the North only raised the issue of rice," the North Korean delegation spokesman, Won Tong-Yeon told reporters at a brief joint press conference.

Spokesman for the South delegation, Koo Pon-tae, responded that his side had simply "insisted on the immediate return of the Woosung 86" and its crew.

"We have no answers for any of your questions today," Koo said, adding that talks would resume today.

According to Pyongyang, two fishermen of the Woosung 86 were shot dead and a third crew member died of disease and malnutrition in captivity after the vessel was captured by North Korea last May.

The two sides signed an agreement here in June for Seoul to donate 150,000 tons of emergency rice shipments to Pyongyang to relieve serious food shortages in the North.

However, another round of negotiations in July to discuss additional aid broke down without agreement, reportedly over the South's insistence of linking any further rice deal to a package of agreements on economic cooperation and an end to the North's threats to scrap the Korean Armistice Agreement.

According to South Korea's Yonhap news agency, the head of the North Korean delegation Jon Gum-Chol reaffirmed before Wednesday's talks began that July and August flooding in North Korea had caused damage estimated at US$15 billion.

Some 145 cities and counties -- or 70 percent of North Korea's territory -- were damaged by the floods, which affected 5.2 million people, Jon said, adding that 70 people had died.

Questioned as to how much grain had been lost, Jon said the figure was still being calculated, although he added that the country had lost one million tons of grain last year "because of hail."

Pyongyang managed to escape the floods, but agricultural production across the country will be adversely affected for several years, because of the silt deposited by flood waters, he said.