In this regard a spokesman for the National Reconciliation Council issued a statement on Friday denouncing this move.

Late in February the Council for the Solution of the Issue of the Volunteers Corps in south Korea tried to have communication with its counterpart in the north to discuss a draft declaration to be published by the women's organizations of the north and the south on the occasion of the 92nd anniversary of the March First Popular Uprising. But the ministry disallowed it.

Such action is little short of an outrageous action against human rights and reunification as it reminds people of the period of military fascist dictatorship in the past when the south Korean people were blindfolded and gagged and those who uttered a mere word of reunification were mercilessly thrown behind bars.

The puppet group totally cut off even the communication between those organizations now that the freedom of correspondence has become an elementary common sense internationally in the light of human rights. This is a totally unpardonable and illegal action in the light of the norm of international communication, said the statement.

It went on:

This action more saliently revealed that the puppet ministry represents a group of traitors keen to escalate confrontation with fellow countrymen and hatch a plot against the country's reunification in wanton violation of elementary human rights, far from working for national harmony, peace and reunification.

This group has brought the results achieved after the publication of the June 15 joint declaration to naught, frozen the ties between the north and the south and increased the danger of a war, more frantically fanning up the consciousness of confrontation among compatriots than ever before.

This is all what it has done for the last three years since its seizure of power.

Recently it did not hesitate to bring to rupture the hard-worn preliminary talks for opening the north-south high-level military talks), challenging the desire and demand of all fellow countrymen to defuse the prevailing acute confrontation at once through wide-ranging dialogue and negotiations and pave the way for peace and independent reunification.

The conservative ruling forces of south Korea should roll back the policy of confrontation with the DPRK, the policy which all fellow countrymen at home and abroad termed totally bankrupt, stop Key Resolve and Foal Eagle joint military exercises in collusion with foreign forces and guarantee the people from all walks of life the freedom to discuss reunification and conduct activities for it without delay.