GNP chief hints at good news on inter-Korean ties

The two Koreas may announce a new agreement as they inch toward better ties after months-long tensions, the leader of Seoul’s ruling party said Friday.

The agreement “may be disclosed as early as” the Sep. 11-13 Chuseok holiday, Grand National Party chairman Hong Joon-pyo told reporters without elaborating on its contents.

For the Korean Thanksgiving Day, family members scattered across the country gather to hold a memorial service for ancestors at home or tombs.

The right-wing politician may have been taking about a new round of reunions for families separated since the 1950-53 Korean War, political insiders say.

In recent weeks, Hong has made a series of comments raising hopes for improved inter-Korean ties. Earlier this week, he said the two Koreas and Russia may meet in November to discuss a project to build a gas pipeline that will ship Siberian gas to the South via the North.

Hong’s recent remarks come as the two Koreas are making slow but definite moves to mend ties after they exchanged fire near their sea border in November last year. South Korea has for months refused to do any favors for its impoverished northern rival in response to Pyongyang’s two attacks that killed 50 people.

Wanting to resume the aid-for-denuclearization talks and secure financial assistance from the dialogue partners including Seoul, North Korea has been increasing contact with regional powers. During his recent meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il had said he supports Moscow’s long-sought project to pipe natural gas through North Korean territory into South Korea, an issue that could bring the two Koreas closer.

The last round of family reunions was held in late October last year, days after which Pyongyang mounted a deadly attack on a Seoul border island.

An issue with a relatively lighter political weight such as family reunion has often laid the groundwork for talks on more politically sensitive issues and is viewed as a barometer of inter-Korean ties.

Millions of families remain separated by the South-North border since the Korean War, which ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty. South Korea forbids unauthorized contact between ordinary citizens in the two Koreas.

By Shin Hae-in (hayney@heraldcorp.com)