LOC11:16
08:16 GMT
TOKYO, April 24 (KUNA) -- South Korea will try to streamline the rules and regulations necessary for future full-scale economic cooperation with North Korea, Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul said Wednesday, according to Yonhap News Agency.
"It is very important to improve the legal basis in order not to repeat the failure of the past, while advancing inter-Korean economic cooperation one step higher in terms of its quality and then expanding it further with the international community," Kim was quoted as saying at a forum in Seoul.
"In this context, preparing the legal system prior to resuming full-scale economic cooperation (with the North) is a necessary process at this point," he added. "We will consult with North Korea regarding the legal and institutional matters."
South Korea has been seeking cooperation with North Korea in various areas in the hope that it could help foster a peace mood and contribute to the stalled denuclearization talks between the North and the US. Full-scale inter-Korean cooperation, however, has been constrained by global sanctions on North Korea.
Washington worries that economic cooperation with the communist state could undermine the sanctions regime at a time when little progress has been made in denuclearization talks.
"This year, we should build on the achievements that we made last year and make them produce concrete outcomes in terms of economic cooperation between the two Koreas," he added. (end)
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