North Korea vows to push for peace

Thousands protest in Seoul

South Korean veteran soldiers protest next to an effigy of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il

SEOUL, South Korea -- North Korea has vowed to push ahead with talks and to pursue reconciliation with South Korea, despite the recent naval clash that has further chilled relations between the peninsula neighbors.

"We will make all our efforts to smoothly promote dialogue and cooperation as both sides agreed under the banner of the July 4 joint statement and the June 15 joint declaration," a Pyongyang government statement read, according to The Associated Press.

The comments came as thousands of protesting army veterans and supporters in Seoul burned posters of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and demanded he be punished over the weekend naval battle between the two rivals.

The demonstrators, led by the Korean Veterans Association, called for the overthrow of Kim for provoking the clash between South and North Korean naval ships in which four South Korean sailors died and 19 were wounded.

South and North Korea have blamed each other for their worst conflict in three years, which, according to unconfirmed estimates, also killed or wounded 30 North Koreans.

The latest peace overture from North Korea came from the Committee for Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, a government agency in charge of relations with South Korea.

No light for Sunshine Policy

The roughly 4,000 protesters who rallied at the Korean War Memorial in central Seoul demanded South Korea punish the North over the battle and scrap Seoul's policy of engagement with Pyongyang, Reuters news agency reported.

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"Punish the evil element. Overthrow the Kim Jong-il puppet regime," read a poster carried by protesters, who included hundreds of veterans in military uniforms.

At the center of the rally a life-sized photograph of Kim Jong-il dressed in his standard polyester jump suit was torched and then battered with shovels to the cheers of the crowd.

On Wednesday, South Korean ministries announced they were shelving plans to help the North, including shipments of surplus rice and a visit by telecoms authorities to discuss helping Pyongyang launch a mobile phone service.

South Korean President Kim Dae-jung's government has said it remains committed to its "Sunshine Policy" of engaging North Korea, but his aides have acknowledged that the naval firefight has eroded political support for assisting the communist country.

The United States has withdrawn an earlier proposal to resume security talks with North Korea, saying the clash had created "an unacceptable atmosphere" for dialogue.

History of friction

After blaming North Korea for the weekend naval clash with its southern neighbor, the United Nations Command in Seoul appealed to Pyongyang to take part in a joint investigation into the battle.

Saturday's clash followed a recent series of incursions by North Korean navy ships into South Korean waters.

The two Koreas dispute the exact location of the sea border between their countries.

On Friday, two North Korean patrol boats briefly crossed the border -- the 10th such violation this year. (Timeline of incidents)

In June 1999, several border violations by North Korean ships sparked the first naval clash between the two Koreas since the 1950-53 Korean War.

A North Korean torpedo boat was sunk and two other North Korean vessels seriously damaged in the fierce battle. About 30 North Korean sailors were believed killed.

South and North Korea have been divided since the 1950-53 Korean War and are still technically at war.