March 14, 2001	atimes.com

The Koreas Pyongyang needs time to think, not talk SEOUL - Just a week after the United States threw a cloud over politics on the Korean peninsula, North Korea on Tuesday called off four days of high-level talks with South Korea just hours before they were due to begin in the Southern capital of Seoul. No reasons were given for the decision to call of the fifth round of ministerial talks since the historic inter-Korean summit last June. South Korean President Kim Dae-jung returned on the weekend from Washington where President George W Bush told him that he had "some skepticism about the North and its leader" and would not immediately resume negotiations on the North's missile program, although Bush said he supports Kim's "sunshine" policy of engaging the North. "Considering various circumstances, we cannot participate in today's meeting," the South Korean government quoted senior North Korea delegate Jon Kum-jin as saying in a message to his counterpart, Unification Minister Park Jae-kyu. North Korea did not mention rescheduling the talks. Park expressed strong regret and urged that the talks be held as soon as possible, his ministry said in a statement. Experts believe the North may need more time to establish its stance on key issues in the wake of the Washington summit, although a South Korean spokesman said "the North's postponement seems to stem from internal reasons". The North has in the past abruptly cancelled or postponed inter-Korean talks - including the June summit. The meeting had been scheduled to agree on projects for 2001. These included arrangements for more reunions between separated families, sport and cultural contacts, institutionalization of economic cooperation and a planned visit to the South by North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. In recent days, North Korea has threatened to pull out of missile and nuclear accords with the US, partly to protest what it views as a hardline approach in Washington. The North's state-run radio on Tuesday urged South Koreans to "shun all toadyish appeals to foreign powers" and to be "armed with a spirit of sovereign independence". On Monday, South Korea said it would supply US$18 million of aid to the North, which is gripped by regular famines. At talks with the South in December, Pyongyang asked for 500,000 kilowatts of free electricity, but rejected a South Korean proposal to conduct an extensive joint survey of the North's energy situation. The aid package, to be shipped to the North by the end of this month, includes 1.5 million pieces of children's underwear, 12,000 tons of apples, pears and potatoes; malaria vaccines for 100,000 people, 1,300 gallons of pesticide and 100 manual sprayers. North Korea depends on outside aid to feed its 22 million people. Past South Korean government aid has mostly taken the form of rice, corn and fertilizer. ((c)2001 Asia Times Online Co, Ltd. All rights reserved. Please contact content@atimes.com for information on our sales and syndication policies.)

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