[Editorial] North Korea repays good will with spite

Posted on : 2012-06-13 15:35 KST Modified on : 2012-06-13 15:35 KST
 (second from the right)
(second from the right)

North Korea has leapt into the fray of the South Korean “ideology” controversy by threatening to reveal things New Frontier Party presidential hopefuls said and did during their previous visits to the country. The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland (CPRF) issued a statement a few days ago titled “All That Will Come of the ‘Pro-North Purges’ Is Mockery and Shame.” It suggested that the North may disclose the actions of Park Geun-hye, as well as lawmaker Chung Mong-joon and Gyeonggi province Gov. Kim Moon-soo, on their visits to North Korea in years past. Leaving aside any question of the content, this cannot be seen as anything but a shameful breach of etiquette and a futile gesture.

There are a few possible explanations for these actions. One is that Pyongyang wants to quiet the pro-North ideological controversy in the South and prevent the ruling party from using allegations of following Pyongyang as a political weapon. This is suggested by the statement’s claims that Park “made a number of North-friendly statements while observing different places,” or that “the people of South Korea will faint immediately when we reveal all the things [Chung and Kim] said during their visits.” It is also possible that North Korea wanted to elicit a response from Seoul that would allow it to further develop its “relationship of antagonistic coexistence.” Now facing the task of entrenching a vulnerable third-generation leadership, the North may sense a need to foment antagonism with the South.

Another possible reason may be that Pyongyang wants to influence South Korea’s political climate ahead of December’s presidential election. The CPRF suggested that the recent furor over certain lawmakers’ alleged allegiance to Pyongyang was intended to create a sense of crisis that would increase the conservative party’s chances of reelection. But attempts to use the North Korea issue have tended to backfire in recent elections. The last time it really worked may have been in 1996, when a shooting incident at Panmunjeom ahead of the 15th National Assembly elections stirred security concerns that worked in favor of the then-ruling conservative New Korea Party. Under the Kim Dae-jung administration, the April 2000 announcement of the June 15 Inter-Korean summit just before the general elections had the opposite effect from what was intended. So did the hastily announced findings from the ROKS Cheonan investigation before the June 2010 local elections.

Whatever the case, its actions are both crude and highly improper. North and South Korea are bound together in a special relationship where they exist in military conflict, yet must ultimately achieve reunification through reconciliation and cooperation. If Park and the others did say good things and offer gifts during their visit, it was as a matter of diplomatic etiquette.

By threatening to “disclose” these things, Pyongyang is repaying good will with ill. The North’s leadership must realize that such behavior will only breed further distrust in North Korea. And certain parties on our side should consider whether their reckless ideological attacks provided Pyongyang with an excuse to chime in.

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