Seoul Lifts Trade Ban With North

SEOUL — South Korea announced today that it is lifting a ban on trade with its archrival North Korea and proposed talks aimed at forming a single economic community.

Deputy Prime Minister Rha Woong Bae said any inter-Korean trade would be regarded as “internal trade within the national community” and would therefore be duty-free. Until now, South Korean businessmen importing North Korean goods could be subject to prosecution under a national security law that bans and punishes all pro-Pyongyang activities with a maximum penalty of death. Rha said Seoul would encourage traders from the two Koreas to visit each other’s country or to meet in third countries for business negotiations.