"The whole point is that there is greater integration between Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macau," said Dr. Fu, the expert on cross-border relations.
The officials also said the liaison office, located at the largely defunct resort of Diamond Mountain in the North, played a limited role in cross-border relations.
Her replacement – pill-popping, sex-addict insomniac Henrik Saboethe – was, however, more game and relished the challenge of improving some cross-border relations of his own.
The Mexican Embassy released a statement expressing concern that the law would lead to racial profiling and damage cross-border relations.
While several former mayors have had warm relations with Tijuana officials, Mr. Filner has made cross-border relations a centerpiece of his administration, appointing a binational affairs director and mentioning Mexico at nearly every opportunity.
The bitter history of the last American agent to be killed in Mexico, Enrique Camarena of the Drug Enforcement Administration in 1985, is still raised in discussions about cross-border relations.
Lee, a conservative who ended unconditional aid to the North four years ago, said the coming year could bring change in cross-border relations and, perhaps, progress on Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programme.
The atmosphere inside the demilitarised zone (DMZ), established after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a ceasefire, mirrors the current state of cross-border relations: prolonged tension, occasional flare-ups, and a return to the status quo.
"Considering the North's latest series of provocations, our government believes that it must pay an appropriate price," an official from the South Korean unification ministry, which handles cross-border relations, told the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper.
Repression and further slaughter in East Pakistan led to the secession of that half of the country, with military help from India, in 1971.Other wars, such as Pakistan's reckless effort in 1999 to grab Kargil, a sliver of Indian Kashmir, have further poisoned cross-border relations.
