hankyoreh

During the World Economic Forum broadcast by the BBC yesterday, President Lee Myung-bak said there is no reason he could not meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il within the year, if the talks could help bring peace to the Korean peninsula and a resolution to the North Korea nuclear issue. Analysts are saying that this comment shows a fair amount of progression from his Jan. 4 New Year’s address, in which he said that this year, both countries need to create a new turning point in inter-Korean relations.



It seems Lee’s statement, relatively speaking, is in some ways accepting of the realities of inter-Korean relations. Unlike his February address, in which he named the issue of POWs and abductees to North Korea as issues to be discussed in an inter-Korean summit, during the World Economic Forum, he made no mention of them. As issues strongly being pushed by South Korean conservatives, they are considered by some as impediments to pragmatically easing inter-Korean relations, since the finer points of agreement would be very difficult to negotiate. Moreover, unlike President Lee’s previous call for North Korea’s abandonment of its nuclear weapons program as a prerequisite for talks, he issued a more moderate stance and instead said there needed to be sufficient discussion of the North Korea nuclear issue. The Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) is explaining this as simply a position of principle, but it is possible to see the statement as a departure from the last two years, in which inter-Korean relations have been lost as the Lee administration advocated its hardline “Vision 3000, Denuclearization and Openness” policy.

It is too early to tell, however, whether President Lee is really willing to participate in an inter-Korean summit based only on this statement. This is because if an inter-Korean summit is to become a reality, it must be predicated on a policy tenor of seeking coexistence through dialogue, but President Lee has remained vague on this issue. Recently, in institutions such as the policy think-tank Korea Institute of National Unification (KINU), a report was published a contingency plan based on a ‘suden change’ in North Korea, and a broadcast program predicated on unification through absorption of North Korea is even being made. The Cheong Wa Dae does not appear to be restraining these moves. In response to Defense Minister Kim Tae-young’s comments regarding preemptive strikes upon North Korea, President Lee said these were just statements of principle, but it is doubtful this response will reduce distrust between North Korea and South Korea.



Perhaps more importantly, the Lee administration must change its position on the June 15 Joint Declaration and October 4 Summit Declaration. The June 15 Declaration is a basic promise regarding inter-Korean coexistence, while the October 4 Declaration builds upon that to include a wide range of agreements on a variety of pending issues. The two declarations are the only two documents signed by the leaders of the two Koreas. If a summit is going to happen, even if the administration changes in one country, the right path is to discuss plans for additional improvements based on existing agreements.

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