hankyoreh

A joint declaration, signed by South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il at the North’s state guest house on October 4, was more comprehensive and specific than originally expected. One expert said he was greatly surprised at the result of the summit.

Under the principle of mutual respect, the 2007 Joint Declaration calls for South and North Korea to push for the prosperity of their people through “a virtuous cycle of peace and economic cooperation.”

Unlike a conventional summit agreement, the joint declaration contains quite a number of specific measures. In general, a summit meeting deals with principles, while specific measures are handled by low-level meetings.

With the conclusion of President Roh’s single term only months away, the two leaders might have agreed on the details in order to ensure the continuity of inter-Korean cooperation through the next administration. In a bid to ensure the agreement will be carried out amid the atmosphere of the South’s turbulent political scene, the joint declaration specifies a wide range of measures, including prime ministerial meetings, deputy prime ministerial meetings and a joint economic committee.

Lee Bong-jo, head of the Korea Institute for National Unification, said, “The North’s Kim is seen as believing that the progress in inter-Korean relations, after the June 15 Joint Declaration (produced after the summit in 2000), would benefit the North. Also, there is the strategic consideration that such an agreement could help North Korea-U.S. relations make progress,” Lee pointed out.

Koo Kap-woo, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said, “The South’s interests were reflected in many parts of the agreement. It shows the North’s difficult situation.”

To find common ground, Roh and Kim linked important but sensitive issues. A representative example of this is the building of a peace zone in the disputed western sea area. Both sides agreed to hold a meeting of defense ministers next month to deal with the issue of Northern Limit Line in the West Sea. At the same time, they agreed to set up a “special zone for peace and cooperation” in the Haeju area, which is located near the military demarcation line. In addition, the two sides agreed to promote investment in inter-Korean economic cooperation and aggressively push for mineral exploration. They also agreed to cooperate in reconnecting a railway between Gaeseong and Shinuiju and an expressway between Gaeseong and Pyongyang.

By promising to provide support to modernizing the North’s infrastructure, which will require a huge amount of funds, President Roh gained the consent of the North Korean leader, who has been cautious about openness as it could ultimately prove fatal to his regime.

Another important thing is that the two Koreas specified the concept of a “joint committee” for the first time since the first summit seven years ago. The joint committee was first formulated under the historic Basic Agreement, a landmark agreement on national reconciliation and peaceful coexistence between the two Koreas that was signed in 1992. However, the Basic Agreement has never been implemented. Many analysts point out that even though the Basic Agreement contained “all the necessary measures toward reunification,” no achievements have yet been made.

Seo Dong-man, a professor at Sangji University, said, “The North has implemented confidence-building measures in the military field in accordance with the progress in economic cooperation. As for this agreement, what’s most important is how far the South will be able to implement its commitments.”

Specifically, the joint declaration did not produce anything on the confederation system for reunification, which was specified in the June 15 Joint Declaration. The confederation system for reunification is a phased approach to reunification. Roh and Kim may choose the realities of “co-existence, peace and prosperity” rather than an “artificial reunification.”

Meanwhile, Roh and Kim clarified that they will cooperate in pushing for three-party or four-party summit talks to replace the armistice on the Korean peninsula with a permanent peace treaty. This could raise subtle diplomatic issues with countries that have a stake in the proposed summit talks in that the agreement mentions foreign leaders. The two Koreas have been in a state of war since the armistice was signed in 1953 by the United States, China and North Korea - but not by South Korea, which refused to sign the document. Therefore, any peace agreement would need to invovle these three nations, but could also involve South Korea, were the other parties to agree.

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