South Korea Warns North Korea

South Korea urged North Korea on Monday not to use an impeachment crisis in Seoul as an excuse for stalling six-nation talks on its nuclear weapons programs, amid signs of a rupture in inter-Korean relations.

A North Korean delegation did not show up for economic talks scheduled to begin Monday in South Korea, citing political instability in the South after Friday's unprecedented parliamentary impeachment of President Roh Moo-hyun.
Acting President Goh Kun, in charge of South Korea until the Constitutional Court rules on whether to unseat Roh, has issued daily statements aimed at reassuring the outside world.

But the cancellation of Monday's economic discussions raised fears that the communist North may use the prospect of leadership change in Seoul to complicate six-nation talks aimed at dismantling Pyongyang's nuclear programs.

"If North Korea uses the impeachment as an excuse to be reluctant or to try avoiding six-party talks, we'll have to question North Korea's commitment to seeking peaceful resolution to the nuclear issue," South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon said.

Ban said he will dispatch his deputy, Lee Soo-hyuck, to Beijing on Tuesday to discuss convening a third round of nuclear talks without hitches.

Last month, the United States, the two Koreas, China, Russia and Japan held talks aimed at easing tensions over the North's nuclear program, but negotiations ended without a major breakthrough. They agreed to meet again by July.

The political crisis began Friday, when — in a spectacle televised live — the opposition-dominated National Assembly used security guards to drag out screaming and kicking pro-Roh lawmakers. It then passed a bill impeaching Roh for alleged election-law violations and incompetence.

The move appeared to be backfiring on the opposition, as public surveys showed the popularity of the small Uri Party, which supports the president, surging ahead of the April 15 parliamentary polls.

Tens of thousands of Roh supporters have converged on downtown Seoul every night since the impeachment to protest against the opposition. About 35,000 people showed up Sunday night, chanting "nullify impeachment" as they waved candles and demanded that Roh be reinstated.

On Monday, however, police deemed the massive rallies illegal for not having permits and urged organizers to stop them or face punishment.

The People's Solidarity for Participatory Democracy, a civic group that sponsored the rallies, said it would continue demonstrating but try to comply with police concerns about their size and duration.

With both sides trying to avoid clashes, the number of people gathering for Monday's night rally in downtown Seoul dropped sharply to around 3,500, shouting "The impeachment is invalid!"

Police had said they would not disperse them as long as they didn't turn violent.

Chung Dong-young, chairman of the Uri Party, defended the rallies as democratic free expression, but also voiced concern about them possibly turning violent.

"If these rallies turn violent, they might be abused by the opposition who are very desperate and might use it to try to delay upcoming parliamentary elections," Chung said.

The Uri Party, which has won much public sympathy since the impeachment, is hoping to channel newfound support into ballot box victory during the April 15 nationwide polls.

On Sunday, North Korea condemned South Korea's presidential impeachment as a U.S.-masterminded "coup" in its first comments on the crisis.

"This is not merely an internal affair of South Korea. It is a political rebellion staged by a handful of political quacks quelling the mind-set of tens of millions of South Korean people," the North's official KCNA news agency said late Sunday, citing a North Korean government spokesman.

North Korea's dispatch accused Washington of masterminding Roh's impeachment, saying: "It was none other than the United States that sparked such disturbing development."

South Korea's main opposition Grand National Party, which led the impeachment drive, has called for a tougher stance on North Korea and a stronger alliance with the United States. Roh has unsettled conservative South Koreans by seeking more independence from Washington.

The two Koreas had agreed to hold economic talks in the South Korean city of Paju. But the communist North on Sunday urged they be moved to the Northern city of Kaesong because of the "very unstable" political situation in the South. The South rejected it.
By Sang-Hun Choe