hankyoreh

It has been close to four months since U.S. President Barack Obama took office and efforts to resolve the North Korea nuclear issue, including the restart of the six-party talks, have not escaped stalemate. Moreover, it does not appear that inter-Korean issues are improving. In short, we find ourselves in a rather frustrating situation in which the exits are blocked in all North Korea-related issues continues.

U.S. special envoy for North Korea Stephen Bosworth, who is on his second tour of six-party talk nations since his appointment, is leaving South Korea without having made any clear gains. He said he would continue to work to get North Korea back to the six-party talks, but he reportedly did not put forward a plan to make that happen. Like his last tour, he did not visit North Korea or meet with high-ranking North Korean figures. Indeed, North Korea declared on Friday, the day Bosworth arrived in South Korea, that there was no change that they could discern in the U.S.’s hostile policy towards them, even under President Obama, and that Pyongyang would continue to work on strengthening its nuclear deterrent. The statement issued during Bosworth’s second tour basically reconfirmed a statement made by a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson on April 29, in which North Korea declared it would conduct a second nuclear test, test fire an intercontinental ballistic missile or develop uranium enrichment technology.

Responding to the South Korean government’s raising of North Korea’s human rights record, North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland took a hardline approach and said Friday that there was no need to engage in inter-Korean dialogue. The committee even coarsely condemned South Korea’s response to North Korea’s detainment of a South Korean Hyundai Asan employee. Accordingly, forecasts are growing that despite the impending second round of inter-Korean governmental talks concerning the Kaesong (Gaeseong) Industrial Complex, this issue will not easily be resolved,

It is unclear whether this is part of North Korea’s strategy to go on its own path until it is recognized as a nuclear state, or brinkmanship intended to maximize Pyongyang’s bargaining power with Washington. Regardless of which it is, what is　clear is that it is putting up obstacles to resolving the nuclear issue. If North Korea continues to narrow the room for negotiations and continues to engage in provocative actions, public opinion calling for pressure on North Korea from the international community will inevitably increase.

In order to change the situation, the U.S. must quickly complete its review of North Korea policy and come out for high-level contact. North Korea and the U.S. continuing to stand so far apart and raise their voices at one another can only worsen the situation. The South Korean government meanwhile must both substantively support North Korea-US dialogue and take a concrete approach to North Korea that can change the basic framework of inter-Korean relations.

The Kaesong Industrial Complex talks can become one opportunity to do this.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]