NORTHEAST ASIA PEACE AND SECURITY NETWORK ***** SPECIAL REPORT ***** February 8, 1998 The following is the complete text of the DPRK's recent letter to the ROK proposing high-level talks. The text was contained in a press release by the ROK Ministry of National Unification. News reports on the letter were contained in the Daily Report for February 3 and 4. ----------------------------------------------- ROK Ministry of National Unification Press Release, 4 Feb 99 [Commentary by the spokesman of the Unification Ministry: The government positively assesses North Korea's proposal on holding talks between the authorities of the North and the South, which was made through a letter adopted at a "joint meeting of the government, political parties, and organizations." The government urges the North side to hold the talks between the authorities of the North and the South without any conditions and as soon as possible. [Signed] Spokesman for the Unification Ministry] Letter to the South Korean Authorities, Political Parties and Organizations, and Individuals at Home and Abroad. The South Korean authorities, political parties and organizations, and individuals at home and abroad: Today, the Republic's government, political parties, and organizations are convening a joint meeting in Pyongyang. They send this letter with the desire that the entire nation is united, averts the danger of war that is deepening daily, and ensures an epoch-making phase for fatherland reunification unfolds this year. While the world pays keen attention and has deep concern toward the Korean peninsula, a grave situation threatening the existence itself of the nation is being fostered. The United States, which considers crushing our Republic a key issue in implementing its Asian strategy, is maneuvering to ignite the fuse of war without fail, recently having brought up the so-called non-existent suspicion of an underground nuclear facility and the issues of missiles and biochemical weapons. The ravages of modern war are not restricted to a certain regional borders or targets. Our nation, having lived with the pain of division for over half a century, can never afford to go through the calamity of war again at the end of the 1990s. Our nation can never enter the 21st century with the tragedy of national division and the consistently intimidating danger of war. The entire nation should greet the new era of reunification and prosperity by cooperating in averting the approaching danger of war and providing a new phase for the fatherland's reunification for this year, a crossroads of history. With such desire, we propose the following to the South Korean authorities, political parties, organizations, and individuals at home and abroad, keeping in mind a noble patriotic enthusiasm to fulfill our responsibility before the nation. First, let us designate this year as the year of national independence and great unity. To that end, let us collect the strength and wisdom of the entire nation. Independence and great unity are most crucial to us today, when a war is being forced by outside forces. [If we are] scattered apart by lacking independence and depending on and following outside forces, the ravages of war cannot be avoided. However, we can head off the war whipped up by outside forces if we defend the nation's sovereignty with our lives and unite. This is a serious lesson taught by the history of our nation, which went through the ordeal of war and the country's ruin. This is also our valuable experience, we who weathered all sorts of tribulations in history with a faith in independence and the power of unity. All compatriots in South Korea should head off and frustrate the US war maneuvers and resolutely oppose flunkeyism and dependence on outside forces whipping up a war by highly upholding national independence and great unity as a patriotic and nation-loving banner. The South Korean authorities, political parties, and organizations should resolutely decide to firmly part from submissive acts and depending on outside forces. They should enter the true road of independence and the road of grand national unity. Second, let us sincerely implement the three principles of the fatherland's reunification -- independence, peaceful reunification, and grand national unity. The three principles of the fatherland's reunification are a reunification program common to the nation that the North and the South agreed upon and declared before the nation. The only just principle that the North and the South should depend on for the fatherland's reunification is the three principles of independence, peaceful reunification, and grand national unity. If the three principles of the fatherland's reunification, which are the basis of the common nation, are shaken, no problem related to North-South relations and the fatherland's reunification can be resolved. If the three principles of the fatherland's reunification reconfirmed in the North-South agreement are rejected, all of the articles in the North- South agreement, which was provided based on this, will become insignificant. Ultimately, the North-South agreement itself will remain empty paper. The South Korean authorities, political parties, and organizations should take steps to solidify the three principles of the fatherland's reunification as the principles of activities for the country's reunification and as the starting point for policy toward the North. Along with this, all kinds of pseudo principles and bases contrary to the three principles of the fatherland's reunification should be renounced. Third, let us arrange dialogues between the authorities and other wide- ranging dialogues between the North and South. The basic method for opening a new phase in the fatherland's reunification through national independence and grand unity is extensive dialogue between the North and South. We have consistently called for resolving the country's reunification issue through dialogue, and there is not the slightest change in this position at the present. If war commotion opposing the opposite party to the dialogue continues; patriotic reunification figures are arrested and punished in accordance with the National Security Law; and anti-North scheming acts continue, reunification-oriented dialogue cannot be expected. This will only result in further aggravating North-South relations. This is a historic summation of North-South dialogue that experienced a process of twists and turns, suspension and rupture. We should not repeat such a dialogue [process] of the past. The North and the South should part with the past dialogues that promoted only antagonism and confrontation and make a new start that is aimed at reunification-oriented dialogue. In order for North-South dialogue to take a new step as true reunification-oriented dialogue, practical measures should first be taken in South Korea to remove the stumbling blocks to dialogue. More than anything else, the cooperation with outside forces opposing the Republic should be broken off and joint military exercises should be suspended. The North and the South are fellow countrymen with the same blood. Cooperating with outside forces to isolate and smash fellow countrymen is the greatest nation-selling act of sacrificing the whole nation to outside forces. Holding joint military exercises with them is the gravest form of challenge to cooperation. This cannot coexist with dialogue for national reconciliation and reunification. Next, the National Security Law [NSL] must be abolished. It is anarchical to maintain the NSL, which the South Korean people have abandoned and international human rights organizations and the United States have denounced. Now that reunification-oriented dialogue is on the agenda, now is the time to abolish the NSL, which has been a cancer-like element against national reconciliation and unity for over 50 years, and to open the doors to a broad range of dialogue and contacts between the North and South. In addition, South Korea should guarantee patriotic and reunification organizations and figures freedom in reunification movements and activities. South Korea is binding hand and food South Korea's patriotic and reunification figures and organizations, such as the National Alliance for the Country's Reunification and the National Federation of General Student Councils. It regards their patriotic activities for the fatherland's reunification as criminal acts. This is an extension of the anti-North confrontation policy and fascist tyranny, seen during previous dictatorial regimes. South Korea must guarantee them, these dignified members of the nation, their due rights as masters of the fatherland's reunification. If the South Korean authorities truly wanted to hold new, reunification- oriented dialogue with us, there would be no reason for them to refuse to accept the above-mentioned precedents of practice. The sooner the practical measures we put forward are implemented, the better. The measures should be implemented no later than the end of the first half of this year, thus showing clear results. We propose that the South Korean authorities hold North-South high-level political talks in the latter half of this year on the grounds that the precedents of practice have been made. When the high-level political talks are held, as we proposed, the sides may discuss as a primary agenda item measures to implement the North- South agreement, which reconfirmed the three principles of the fatherland's reunification. They may also discuss other pending issues between the North and South, including North-South cooperation and exchanges and the issue of easing the pain that separated family members and relatives are now experiencing. South Korean political parties, organizations, and figures from all walks of life should actively contribute to developing a broad range of independent, civilian-level dialogue and reunification movements and creating a favorable environment for the fatherland's reunification. We express our expectations that the South Korean authorities, as well as political parties, organizations, and figures from all walks of life at home and abroad, will actively accede with our country- and nation-loving appeal in order to prevent the danger of war and open a new breakthrough for the fatherland's reunification this year. We hope they do so under the banner of national independence and great national unity, so as to decorate the upcoming millennium as the hopeful annals of the fatherland's reunification. [Signed] The Joint Meeting of the DPRK Government, Political Parties, and Organizations. [Dated] 3 February 1999, Juche 88, Pyongyang.