hankyoreh

On Apr. 3, North Korea blocked South Korean access to the Kaesong Industrial Complex. This situation is unacceptable. Even if the complex is in North Korean territory, that country must not think it can simply do whatever it wants. We urge Pyongyang immediately restore normal access to the site.

No grounds exist for the North to take this action. There is no serious conflict over the complex’s management, nor has there been any major military clash with the South. There hasn’t even been any “injuring of North Korean dignity,” as the North warned about. Indeed, the South has actually announced plans to “internationalize” the complex by working to attract Chinese companies. The inescapable conclusion from this is that the North views the complex as a card it can use to intimidate the South. If this is the case, it’s a big mistake. The complex is a venture that benefits both sides, based on an agreement by South and North leaders. It helps no one for one side to unilaterally decide to shut off access. In the past, North Korea has restricted or completely cut off access as a way of expressing its objection to South Korea’s combined military exercises with the US. If this keeps up, any trust that does exist between the two sides will evaporate.

At a recent plenary session of the Workers’ Party central committee, the North adopted a two-track approach of building both its economy and its nuclear armament, with plans to repair and restart a nuclear reactor at Yongbyon. This was basically a declaration that it was going to go ahead with beefing up its nuclear capabilities with no consideration of the sanctions and worries of the international community. This was a mistake, too. It certainly is no way of relieving tensions, and it also gets in the way of talks toward the very peace agreement and cessation of hostile policies that Pyongyang is calling for.

It is counterintuitive to try to build nuclear armament and the economy at the same time. The country will not achieve the kind of international environment it needs to build its economy so long as it is trying to develop more nukes. Instead, this will only deepen its isolation, as it consistently has in the past.

This is not to say that South Korea, the US, or any of the other participants in the six-party talks should be abandoning their efforts. In the end, the only path to solving the problem is dialogue and negotiation. In some sense, the recent boorish behavior from Pyongyang appears to be aimed at increasing its bargaining power. Noteworthy in this regard is the recent reshuffling of its cabinet, which was clearly done to facilitate economic development. After their meeting yesterday, the foreign ministers of South Korea and the US said they were ready to engage in dialogue with North Korea. Now it’s time to come up with concrete ideas for bringing Pyongyang to the table for talks.

The North is gravely mistaken if it thinks shutting off Kaesong provides it with some kind of advantage. No problem involving the Korean Peninsula can be resolved without an active role for the South. If Seoul gains some room to move through improved relations, the North also stands to benefit.

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