S. Korean activists' trip barred

The South Korean government barred members of a private organization from going to China this week to meet with North Koreans, an official said. The meeting was to discuss implementation of an accord reached in 2000 at the first inter-Korean summit. That accord and another in 2007 called for better ties and cross-border economic projects, Yonhap News agency reported Tuesday. However, South Korea's Vice Unification Minister Kim Chun-shik informed the private umbrella organization such a meeting would not be conducive to inter-Korean relations at a time when there is no official dialogue between the two Koreas, the report said. There have been no high-level talks between the sides since 2008 when conservative Lee Myung-bak became South Korean president. The latest order comes two days before the group was set to meet with North Koreans in the northeastern Chinese city of Shenyang. Yonhap said North Korea has been calling on the South to implement the 2000 and 2007 inter-Korean summit deals. Lee Seung-hwan of the umbrella organization -- whose members faced punishment or fines if they went on the trip -- said the meeting could help improve inter-Korean relations, which remain strained. He said a final decision on the trip would be made Wednesday, the report said.