hankyoreh

On Mar. 12, White House national security advisor Thomas Donilon, said, “The United States is prepared to sit down with North Korea to negotiate and to implement the commitments that they and the United States have made.” This implies that the US is willing to move forward with real negotiations as long as the North takes meaningful measures.

At the new South Korean government’s first cabinet meeting on Mar. 11, President Park Geun-hye emphasized that “We must not make spare any effort to activate the trust-building process for the Korean peninsula.”

Ryoo Kihl-jae, who was sworn in as Minister of Unification on the same day, reiterated his intention to provide humanitarian support to North Korea. He stated that existing agreements must be respected and adhered to, citing the Jun. 15 Joint Declaration and the Oct. 4 Summit Declaration. Though these comments are limited, they do suggest that the government is leaving open a channel for dialogue and making overtures to North Korea.

With the Korean peninsula shrouded in heightened military tension, one could view these gestures as mere formalities. In fact, Pyongyang has not toned down its threats since the Key Resolve US-South Korea military exercises began on Mar. 11, and it is not out of the realm of possibility for an accidental clash to break out near the armistice line or in the surrounding waters.

However, it is the government’s job to see that nothing of the sort occurs. The very act of leaving open the possibility of dialogue can prevent the worst from happening. This is particularly so now, when new governments in South Korea and the US are still forging their North Korea policies. The situation can change dramatically depending on what signals North Korea decides to send.

A sense of balance is important in North Korean policy. While taking a hard line can make things easy in the short term, most of the time it exacerbates the situation without producing any clear results. Radical actions engender radical reactions, wiping out the progress that had been so painstakingly achieved. This is exactly what happened during the past five years of Lee Myung-bak’s presidency.

That said, unconditional appeasement is not the answer. If the other side misjudges our intentions, the whole situation can be ruined. This is why it is important to seek engagement that is at once realistic and creative. Even in the current situation, the Kaesong Industrial Complex, where things are generally going well, can serve as a good model. Hard work by itself is not enough to get the trust-building process for the Korean peninsula off the ground. We must carefully consider what that process should entail.

The conflict over the North Korean nuclear program, which has lasted for twenty years now, is entering its final stage. Before her time in office is over, Park must achieve her goal of resolving the nuclear issue and laying the foundation for unification of the peninsula. In order to do that, it is essential not to focus solely on the situation at hand but also to forge a policy that can provide a fundamental solution to the problem.

“We must not be so trapped in a narrow mindset that we fail to see the true nature of the problem,” said Ryoo, the new Unification Minister. His remark is a valid one. We hope that, as he promised when he was sworn in, the government will “meticulously observe relations between the two Koreas and trends in East Asia and the world and use this as a basis to prepare appropriate policies in order to take the lead in inter-Korean relations.”

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