SKorea to review NKorea aid projects

South Korea's incoming president has raised the possibility of canceling aid projects promised to North Korea by his liberal predecessor if they fail to make economic sense and are not in line with the communist country's nuclear disarmament.

President-elect Lee Myung-bak's remarks, made in a newspaper interview published Saturday, represent the most specific conditions the conservative leader has attached to economic cooperation projects agreed upon at an October summit between outgoing President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il.

The comments come as six-nation talks over North Korea's nuclear program have stalled. They also could rile the North, which has called for fulfillment of the South's pledges, among them building a new joint economic zone, a shipbuilding factory and road and rail improvements in the reclusive country.

"Even if they are agreed-upon projects, we need to take into consideration progress in the North Korean nuclear issue and see if they are economically feasible," Lee told South Korea's Dong-a Ilbo newspaper.

"We also have to see whether we are financially capable and if they are worth it ... There should also be national consensus. Just because politicians went there and signed them does not mean we have to do that," Lee said.

Lee's reported comments were confirmed by his office.

The former Hyundai CEO and Seoul mayor is the first conservative leader of South Korea in 10 years. He has criticized his liberal predecessors for providing the North with too much unconditional aid, pledging to ensure Pyongyang returns favor for Seoul's assistance.

Lee said he aims to see a nuclear-free Korean peninsula during his five-year term, which starts on Feb. 25, and would try to convince the North's leader that abandoning nuclear weapons is helpful in maintaining his regime.

Lee said he could hold a summit with Kim if that helps resolve the nuclear standoff and gets the regime to open up to the outside world. But he stressed he would not seek such a meeting for political gain.

Six-nation talks, which made progress in shutting down and disabling the North's nuclear reactor, are now at a deadlock as the U.S. accuses North Korea of refusing to provide a complete list of its nuclear programs.

The U.S. State Department's top Korea expert, Sung Kim, said Saturday following a visit to the North that he pressed for a full accounting of its nuclear programs but received no list. North Korea says it provided a declaration in November, but the United States said it was incomplete.

Lee said he believes the nuclear talks have moved slowly because North Korea does not have sufficient trust in the five other countries — the U.S., China, Japan, South Korea and Russia — and suggested it would be good if some European Union nations get involved in the process.

Lee also said he would try to "restore" Seoul's relations with Washington, which have frayed over the past 10 years under his liberal predecessors due mainly to differences over how to deal with North Korea. Seoul has generally preferred a softer approach while Washington has opted for a tougher line.

He said better ties with the U.S. would help improve relations with North Korea.

"It is the U.S. that North Korea wants to normalize relations with the most," Lee said. "If our relations with the U.S. are not good, there is nothing we can do between the U.S. and the North."