Carter was unable to meet with N.Korean leader Kim Jong-il, sources say

Posted on : 2010-08-28 12:38 KST Modified on : 2010-08-28 12:38 KST
Analysts say Carter’s failure to meet with N.Korean leader Kim Jong-il sent a diplomatic signal to the U.S.
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By Lee Yong-In, Staff writer

Visiting Pyongyang once again 16 years after his first visit, former U.S. President Jimmy Carter returned home to the United States on Friday, together with Aijalon Gomes, who had been detained in North Korea. It appears, however, that Carter was unable to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during his three-day, two-night stay in North Korea.

North Korea’s Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Sunday that Carter met with Kim Yong-nam, president of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly, and discussed pending North Korea-U.S. issues. The KCNA said Kim expressed North Korea’s intentions regarding denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and resuming six-party talks. In particular, Kim said denuclearization was a dying injunction from late North Korean leader Kim Il-sung.

The news agency also reported that Carter met with North Korean Foreign Minister Pak Ui Chun and Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan to hold frank discussions on mutual points of interest, such as North Korea-U.S. bilateral relations, the restart of the six-party talks and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

Kim Yong-nam, formally speaking, is North Korea’s head of state, but in light of past practice, it is unlikely he said anything falling greatly outside North Korea’s official positions. In addition, neither Pak nor Kim Kye-gwan have policy decision-making authority, so it would be difficult for them to put forth a flexible plan to resolve the situation. In consideration of this, Carter is believed to have held a position of just listening to North Korea’s positions.

It is also true that in comparison to Carter’s first visit in June 1994, this visit seemed somewhat underwhelming. The first time he visited, he met with [[then]]North Korean leader Kim Il-sung and brought about a dramatic turning point in the first North Korean nuclear crisis and inter-Korean confrontation. Because of this past memory, this visit garnered a great deal of attention, but Kim Jong-il left for China when Carter visited North Korea.

However, there was a different aspect to this visit from his 1994 visit, namely, that formally speaking, Carter was in Pyongyang to conduct “hostage negotiations.” Moreover, unlike when former U.S. President Bill Clinton visited North Korea to rescue two female journalists in August, there was no prior preparation to bring a turn-around in the situation between North Korea and the United States. This appears to have limited Carter’s ability to play mediator.

“If Carter had brought with him a new U.S. policy toward North Korea or a personal message from U.S. President Barack Obama, Kim Jong-il would have naturally met with him, but Carter’s visit fell below North Korea’s expectations,” said Kim Yeon-chul, Unification Studies professor of Inje University. In this vein, one could interpret Kim’s visit to China while Carter was in Pyongyang as a signal that Pyongyang will not hang major hopes on improving its relationship with the United States for the time being.

The U.S. media has largely issued reports seemingly placing more emphasis on the release of Gomes than the failure of Carter to meet with Kim.

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

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