South Korea to keep economic sanctions against North Korea

SEOUL, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- South Korea's unification minister said economic sanctions against the North are to remain in place until the North sincerely apologizes for the torpedoing of the warship Cheonan.

Speaking before the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs, Trade and Unification Committee during a parliamentary audit, Hong Yong-pyo said civic exchanges can resume without lifting the May 24 sanctions, Yonhap reported.

Seoul and Pyongyang had agreed to restart non-political exchanges as part of a deal on Aug. 25 that defused tensions at the border.

Some in South Korea had said the agreement was the first step toward lifting the 2010 sanctions that have crippled economic ties with the North. But Hong said Friday that the North had "refused to accept Seoul's move," and an apology is needed before moving forward.

Pyongyang has said in past statements that the South's claim of North Korean responsibility for the warship sinking is "fictitious."

Hong's statements drew mixed reactions from South Korean lawmakers, News 1 reported. Opposition party members said sanctions were detrimental to the economies of both North and South, and urged the lifting of sanctions.

Others, including ruling party lawmaker Shim Yoon-joe, said the May 24 sanctions were a justifiable response to the torpedoing of the Cheonan that killed 46 South Korean seamen, but ways must be found around the sanctions for the South's economic interests.

Opposition party lawmaker and former Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan said North Korea faces an annual loss between $20 million and $30 million as a result of the sanctions, but the South's loss is "10 times that amount."

Kim Young-woo, another ruling party member, said the sanctions should be revised so more humanitarian aid could be delivered to the North. Heavy floods in North Korea recently killed at least 40 people and left thousands homeless.

South Korea is taking other measures to engage the North and finding ways to resume the six-party talks. Seoul's Foreign Ministry said Friday its chief negotiator, Hwang Joon-kook, is to visit Washington to meet with U.S. officials between Sept. 13 and 18 in order to find solutions to North Korea provocations.