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Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail More Yahoo! Services Account Options New User? Sign Up Sign In Help Yahoo! Search web search Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Australia China India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Philippines Thailand Vietnam S.Korean president defends unification tax AFP - Wednesday, August 18 Send IM Story Print SEOUL (AFP) - – President Lee Myung-Bak on Tuesday defended his proposal to introduce a unification tax, saying South Korea should prepare for reunification with the North rather than endure tense division. Lee on Sunday proposed a special tax to meet the potentially astronomic costs of reunification, outlining a three-step plan for rejoining the impoverished North, starting with Pyongyang giving up its nuclear arsenal. His comments came even though reunification seems more distant than ever amid high tensions. There are deep concerns over the North's future after the eventual death of ageing leader Kim Jong-Il. "What I meant is that we need to get prepared for reunification, not that the government should start imposing the tax immediately," a spokeswoman quoted Lee as saying Tuesday. "Division should not be left as it is... The direction of our national policy should also be changed toward managing reunification, not division." North Korea's official news agency KCNA quoted a state body as calling Lee's proposal an "unpardonable provocation". Related article: NKorea flew drone over sensitive border: SKorea "The traitor will be forced to pay a dear price for spelling out the 'unification tax', his own invention," a spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea was quoted as saying. "If the group of traitors rushes headlong into confrontation to the last, the DPRK will resolutely react to it." Some analysts said the North was likely to see Lee's original statement as Seoul saying the communist state is likely to collapse soon. Paik Hak-Soon, senior fellow at the Sejong Institute, said Lee's proposal came "out of the blue" as he faced growing pressure to improve inter-Korea ties during his remaining official term until early 2013. "It will likely draw more anger from the North as it will see it as a proof that the South is seeking to absorb North Korea," he told AFP. Professor Kim Yong-Hyun, of Dongguk University, also said that Lee's statement might fuel tension. "The North may see it as Seoul's expression of its attempts to absorb it and react strongly against it," he told the Joongang Ilbo daily. But Professor Kim Young-Soo, of Sogang University, said the South should start putting aside funds to meet an unexpected collapse of the North. "All the contingency costs for North Korea cannot be financed through a one-off taxation. The unification tax proposal means we need to start preparations now for an eventual reunification," he said. According to a recent study by the state-financed Korea Development Institute, reunification would cost South Korea two trillion dollars over 30 years if the North's regime suddenly collapses. South Korea's central bank says the North's gross domestic product last year stood at 24.7 billion dollars, less than three percent of South Korea's. Lee's speech on Sunday sparked debate as to whether a unification tax is necessary at a time when inter-Korean relations are at a new low after the North allegedly torpedoed a South Korean warship in March, killing 46 sailors. Opposition Democratic Party lawmakers criticised Lee for assuming the North may collapse soon, while ruling Grand National Party members said the proposal envisions a peaceful reunification following the North's denuclearisation. Park Jie-Won, an opposition lawmaker who also served as unification minister, said the North would see the proposal as "an attempt for reunification by absorption". South Korea and the United States launched their annual Ulshi Freedom Guardian joint exercises Monday, involving tens of thousands of troops. The 10-day exercise is the latest in a series being staged by the South -- either alone or with the United States -- after the sinking of one of its warships in March which sharply raised tensions on the peninsula. Recommend Send IM Story Print Related Articles Taiwan parliament passes historic China trade pact AFP - 1 hour 6 minutes ago U.N. battles donor fatigue for funds for Pakistan Reuters - 1 hour 17 minutes ago Taiwan parliament approves China trade pact AFP - 1 hour 26 minutes ago S.Korean president defends unification tax AFP - Wednesday, August 18 Pakistan wins more flood aid AFP - Wednesday, August 18 News Search Top Stories German investment sentiment slumps Canada's Potash rejects $38 bln offer from BHP British inflation eases to 3.1% Jazz photographer Herman Leonard dead at 87 Court blocks California gay marriage More Top Stories » ADVERTISEMENT Most Popular Most Viewed Most Recommended Tearful German pop star confesses in HIV trial Eight killed, 12 injured in California desert race Court blocks California gay marriage Zsa Zsa Gabor calls in priest for final rites Hurricane formation linked to sea color: study More Most Viewed » Obama endorses mosque plan near Ground Zero 40 US billionaires pledge half wealth to charity Visitors attack Taiwan 'haunted house' actors Calcium supplements linked to heart attacks: study Massive ice island breaks off Greenland glacier More Most Recommended » Elsewhere on Yahoo! 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