hankyoreh

By Kim Bo-keun, director of the Hankyoreh Peace Institute

North Korea under the leadership of Kim Jong-un plans to increase economic cooperation with China, says Ri Chang-dok, vice chairman of North Korea’s National Reconciliation Council (NRC). Provinces such as Liaoning near the countries’ shared border will be focal points of the new development.

Ri‘s comments came at a forum held in Dandong, China by the Hankyoreh and the cities of Incheon and Dandong. It is being held from June 7-8 on the theme of economic cooperation between South and North Korea and peace in Northeast Asia. The symposium also marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between South Korea and China.

Ri met with Incheon mayor Song Young-gil and Im Dong-won, director of the Hankyoreh Foundation for Reunification and Culture (HFRC) near the Crown Plaza Hotel, the event’s main venue.

Ri said, “Dandong and other cities, such as Shenyang, are becoming important places, and [North Korea] is working [in these places] to achieve economic cooperation.”

In response, Song said, “On June 6, in Shenyang, Incheon and Shenyang signed an Memorandum Of Understanding on economic cooperation. I hope South and North Korea will develop economic ties in places like Shenyang and Dandong.”

Having been invited by joint host Dandong, North Korea sent not only officials such Ri from the NRC to the event but also two members of the Central Committee of the Workers’ Party of Korea. They did not officially take part in the symposium, however, instead meeting Song and Im for separate discussions.

Im said, “The North Korean delegates came with the intention of taking part in the larger meeting, but said that it had become impossible for them to do so with relations between South and North at rock bottom.”

The meeting between Ri and the other NRC officials from the North and Song was not a long one. Having traveled to Dandong for the symposium, they spent little more than an hour with Song and Im.

The meeting, however, was highly significant. It was the first between high-ranking Southern and Northern officials since Kim Jong-un took power in the North. Also significant is the fact that it took place through an international symposium organized for the realization of the June 15 2000 North-South Joint Declaration by a local government and a private foundation. The meeting shows that such efforts can play a role in easing tension in circumstances when all hell is threatening to break out on the Korean Peninsula.

Another important result of the meeting was the clue it gave as to the direction to be taken by the Kim Jong-un regime in North Korea. The sending by the North of seven delegates to an international event with South Korean officials is apparently an attempt to ease tensions. Ri’s emphasis upon the North’s effort to achieve economic cooperation in areas such as Dandong and Shenyang, too, implies something about the future direction to be taken by the Kim Jong-un regime.

HFRC and Incheon government decided at the beginning of this year to hold the event with the intention of spurring a breakthrough in South-North economic cooperation. Economic relations between the Koreas have been stalled due to the Lee Myung-bak government’s May 24 measures. North Korea has been increasingly turning to China for trade and assistance.

Dandong, a sister city of Incheon, has also shown enthusiasm, arranging for its mayor, Shi Guang, to give the opening address at the recent joint symposium. It was through the Chinese side that North Korea also stated the possibility of its cooperation in the symposium. HRCF and Incheon judged North Korea’s will to take part as a reflection of its new leadership’s desire to boost economic cooperation with the South. The North did not make clear who would be taking part, but the participants in the symposium all applied for and received permission from the Ministry of Unification to make contact with North Korean citizens when it became more likely that this would occur.

At the last minute, however, North Korea changed its plan and decided to meet Song and Im separately, rather than take part in the symposium itself. The North’s team of delegates reportedly outlined the tense relations between the two Koreas, saying, “The situation between South and North is currently one where [both sides] have their fingers on the trigger.”

They then explained, “In circumstances where criticism of our most sacred dignity is rampant, showing a mood of conciliation would be impossible to explain to the people of the North.” It appears that inter-Korean tension created by the central governments of both sides is impeding efforts at reconciliation and cooperation by local governments and private entities.

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