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Inter-Korean relations are reeling after North Korea expelled South Korean officials from the Gaeseong (Kaesong) Industrial Complex, test-fired several missiles in waters off the west coast and called for the South’s chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to retract and apologize for remarks he made recently. However, despite the atmosphere of escalating tension, officials in South Korea’s diplomacy and security ministries seem to be ignoring the seriousness of the situation, and have said that North Korea’s recent actions “weren’t saying much.”

Against such a non-responsive stance, some experts have raised questions about the crisis management abilities of the South Korean administration of President Lee Myung-bak. The inter-Korean relationship has grown worse following a recent series of hostile remarks made toward North Korea by senior South Korean government officials. In spite of this, however, a “policy of ignorance” being carried out by the new administration is making matters worse, experts have said.

Remarks made recently by Unification Minister Kim Ha-joong and the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Kim Tae-young, have been nothing short of surprising.

On March 19, Unification Minister Kim said that the government would not expand the Gaeseong Industrial Complex unless the North Korean nuclear issue is fully resolved. The minister’s remarks were made in a meeting with South Korean companies operating at the industrial complex. Though the South Korean companies asked the new administration to ease their “financial difficulties” and give more attention to the complex, the minister outlined a plan for linking progress on the nuclear issue with further development of the complex. After the minister’s remarks were made public, a ministry official said the remarks were “somewhat unexpected,” indicating the minister may not have expected his remarks to offend the North and hinting that the minister’s remarks had not been orchestrated by ministry officials in advance.

On March 26, Kim Tae-young, the new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, made remarks that seemed to indicate that South Korea would be open to launching a pre-emptive strike against North Korea. The remarks were made unexpectedly in a question-and-answer session at a Kim’s confirmation hearing, but were not something that the chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff would have wished to have made public.

Koh Yu-hwan, a professor at Dongguk University, said, “Because there are no experts on inter-Korean relations in the new government, and the government’s North Korea policy has not yet been refined, the hostile remarks by senior officials have continued. A policy of being non-responsive could make the situation worse by further provoking the North’s hard-liners.”

In fact, what seems to be the South Korean government’s policy of playing ignorant and not responding to the North is contributing to the deterioration of the inter-Korean relationship. After South Korea withdrew its officials from the joint office in Gaeseong at the North’s request, South Korean Deputy Unification Minister Hong Yang-ho spoke about the event on March 27, when he described the expulsion as a “happening,” saying that “We don’t have to be out in a hurry.” On March 28, when the North test-fired several missiles, the South Korean government said the missile launches were a part of an “ordinary exercise.”

Jeong Se-hyun, a former unification minister, said, “How could the (South Korean) government analyze it as meaningless, even though the North was using its own strong tactics? As the (South’s) new administration has tried to link the North Korean nuclear issue and inter-Korean relations, there is nothing that can be done until the summit between South Korea and the U.S. in April.”

Jeong said the South Korean government’s announcement to “undauntedly cope with” the North’s actions was just rhetoric because it has no prepared policy measures to deal with the North’s recent actions.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said, “We will probably see a potential naval clash off the western coast and a statement from the North that will suspend family reunions or inter-Korean dialogue. Through these possible actions, the North could be delivering the message that the South’s efforts to revitalize its economy may be impossible without the North’s cooperation.”

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