SEOUL, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- South Korea plans to link its humanitarian assistance to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK) with issues of South Korean prisoners of war and civilians presumably kidnapped by the DPRK, Seoul's Unification Minister Hyun In-taek said Thursday.
"Cooperation on our humanitarian issues is crucial," said Hyun In-taek in a press conference following policy brief to President Lee Myung-bak.
"If the two Koreas cooperate on the issues of prisoners of war and civilian abductees together with humanitarian aid to an equal degree, there will be a way to resolve such issues," the minister told reporters.
Currently, there are 560 South Korean prisoners of war in the DPRK, and 505 civilians abductees, mainly fishermen, are believed to held in the DPRK, the ministry said.
Seoul plans to draw up detailed measures concerning the issues and will discuss them with the DPRK if possible, Hyun said.
Hyun did not rule out the possibility of a summit between the two countries, reiterating his position that Seoul is willing to engage in talks at all levels, including the possible summit between the president Lee Myung-bak and the DPRK's leader Kim Jong-il.
In an meeting gathered foreign, unification and defense ministry officials presided over by President Lee Myung-bak earlier in the day, Huyn said the next year will face a turning in terms of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula and the development of the inter-Korean ties.
South Korea will seek a new relationship with the DPRK, Hyun said, adding that his ministry put forward a three-point strategy -- developing principled inter-Korean ties, achieving constructive humanitarianism, and strenthening future power for the reunification.
President Lee Myung-bak said in the meeting that there's been no progress in South Korea-DPRK relations in 2009, but he believed" we are successfully laying the foundation for better ties."
