hankyoreh

March 26 marks the fourth anniversary of the sinking of the ROKS Cheonan warship, which took the lives of 46 sailors guarding the waters of the West (Yellow) Sea. A lot of time has passed since then, but the echoes of that sinking carry on to this day. Like it or not, the time has come to make a realistic decision and escape the shadow of that terrible tragedy.

Seoul‘s official position on the sinking is that North Korea needs to admit its error and take “responsible steps that are acceptable to the South Korean people.” It also mentioned a resolution to the sinking and practical steps toward denuclearization as conditions for “true development in inter-Korean relations” just after North Korea’s National Defense Commission issued an “important proposal” in January calling for a total moratorium on hostile military actions. The nuclear issue is only weakly tied to inter-Korean relations, since it is an issue that really involves many different countries. At the end of the day, the situation with the Cheonan appears to be one of the most important reasons that despite some signs of a thaw - such as the resumption of divided family reunions - no real progress has been made between the two sides. The question is now whether the time has come to relax, or lift entirely, the so-called “May 24 measures” put in place by Seoul two months after the sinking, bringing all exchanges of people and items between North and South to a complete halt.

It’s not easy to find a clean resolution to an incident like the Cheonan sinking. North Korea has consistently maintained that it wasn’t responsible, which means that getting any kind of a direct apology is pretty much out of the question. Back in 2010, the government conducted an investigation, with foreign experts participating, that concluded the sinking to be the result of a North Korean torpedo attack, but it failed to completely convince the international community. Indeed, the debate over what really caused the sinking continues, with many raising questions about the government’s official announcement.

For Seoul to stick to its current position under the circumstances is to give up on any chance of relations with Pyongyang improving. Currently, it is bringing major South Korean corporations on board for a logistics project linking Rajin in North Korea’s North Hamgyong Province with Hassan in Russia’s Primorsky Krai region. It’s calling this an “exception to the May 24 measures,” but there are drawbacks to this approach. One possible solution would be for North Korea to offer some comprehensive apology, or expression of dismay, for various incidents that have transpired between the two sides in the past. This might include things like the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island (also in 2010) and the 2008 shooting death of a South Korean tourist at the Mt. Keumgang tourism complex. Indeed, these matters were reportedly discussed in secret inter-Korean meetings held late in the Lee Myung-bak administration.

Eventually, the whole truth about the Cheonan‘s sinking will come out. There are a lot of issues that remain unresolved between North and South Korea, but it is not in our interests to let them set the overall tone for our relationship. And for the Park administration, partially or completely lifting the May 24 measures is also a necessary part of its “Korean Peninsula trust-building process.”

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