Inter-governmental competition increasing to broker summit talks

Posted on : 2010-02-04 12:14 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
Analysts say President Lee’s CEO style of delegating a task to multiple groups is creating confusion in inter-Korean relations policy
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The situation surrounding a potential Inter-Korean summit is becoming more complex in the wake of President Lee Myung-bak’s recent statements. In his Jan. 4 New Year’s address, he said that “a new turning point in inter-Korean relations must be created this year,” and during a Jan. 9 press conference with Great Britain’s BBC network he said that he “may be able to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-il within the year.” The figures that have confirmed the president’s intent to hold a summit are pursuing meetings with North Korea in an “individualistic combat” format, claiming to be close associates of the president. However, because most of the windows of opportunity for meetings are through private channels whose official status and responsibility cannot be ensured, some observers are concerned that the efforts may end up generating confusion.

A source on North Korea who asked to remain nameless said Wednesday that the individuals in question “are attempting to schedule meetings with North Korea by saying things such as ‘I can really convey President Lee’s wishes’ and ‘I can give you a letter from the president.’”

“It is as if a letter from the president is some kind of love letter,” the source remarked sardonically.

Meetings between North Korea and South Korea to discuss the possibility of holding of a summit have been experiencing a lull since agenda conflicts resulted in the breakdown of a meeting in Singapore last October between Labor Minister Lim Tae-hee and Kim Yang-kon, director of the United Front Department (UFD) of the Korean Workers’ Party, and of a subsequent follow-up meeting between officials of South Korea’s Ministry of Unification and North Korea’s UFD.

Based on accounts from private groups involved in work with North Korea and various experts on inter-Korean relations who are familiar with the situation within the government, however, at least three or four different groups are known to be embarking on separate efforts to construct channels for an inter-Korean summit. To begin with, a major ruling party figure who served previously as a lawmaker for the Grand National Party (GNP) is known to have met with individuals from North Korea’s State Security Department in Beijing last week. In addition, it was reported that an expert on North Korean economics at a private research institution has been seeking contacts with North Korea at the government’s behest. In addition, there have also been reports that a GNP figure actively affiliated with a private group involved in work with North Korea took along a message from President Lee during a recent trip to North Korea.

Many experts are expressing skepticism about the chances of such activity producing a channel strong and reliable enough to guarantee a summit will take place. A number of analysts claim that the crisis of trust between the two Koreas could actually be exacerbated if the individuals focus too much on results or if too many private interests result in distorted communication during discussions.

In particular, many observers say that a careless response from the administration may generate more confusion. In other words, there is no core figure or system within the administration capable of taking full control of inter-Korean relations, especially major international affairs such as summit meetings.

An inter-Korean relations expert who asked to remain anonymous said, “If the administration takes responsibility, whether officially or unofficially, there is no room for the non-official line to operate.” The expert continued, “This is proof the fact that there is a serious lack of policy and a confusing structure for making North Korea policy decisions.”

Other observers are pointing to President Lee’s leadership methods as the problem. They claim that the CEO-style method of giving projects to various people and then selecting those with the best results is also being reflected in inter-Korean relations. For this reason, observers are saying that the situation could become more chaotic in the future as dozens of different people become involved in the effort to bring about the summit.

Experts are expressing concerns that if a summit is pursued in such a fashion, it could not only create difficulties in realizing the summit, but that there would be severe aftereffects even if the summit were to take place. In other words, the process of bringing the summit about through a contest between different groups with the task delegated by the administration could break down if it is exposed to the media. Additionally, if the competition between the various channels raises North Korea’s expectations, this could potentially diminish South Korea’s bargaining ability and neutralize the Lee administration’s official policy line. Indeed, some observers have reported that the Ministry of Unification and the National Intelligence Service (NIS) are competing in their summit efforts rather than cooperating. It is also unclear whether the figures who are attempting contacts with North Korea have made reports to the Ministry of Unification.

Kim Yeon-cheol, head of the Hankyoreh Peace Research Institute, said, “The current situation is a carbon copy of the Kim Young-sam administration, when various brokers were all engaged in similar efforts.”

“They need to consider the lesson learned in 1995, when the non-official line made inter-Korean relations worse by getting involved in discussions during the rice talks,” Kim added.

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

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