hankyoreh

Jan. 6. She was joined by

By Ha Eo-young, staff reporter

President Park Geun-hye expressed her “welcome” of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s recent proposal for improved inter-Korean relations, during a New Year’s press conference on Jan. 6, calling reunification “the jackpot.”

But her positions on reunification and message of welcome remained vague, with many obstacles remaining to any concrete ways of dealing with North Korean denuclearization and other practical issues.

In her first press conference as president on Jan. 6, Park said, “In a nutshell, I think reunification would be the jackpot.” She went on to call reunification “an opportunity for our economy to make a big leap forward.”

She went on to outline a list of policies for 2014 aimed at laying the groundwork for the peninsula’s eventual reunification, including efforts to solve the North Korean nuclear issue and establish peace, more humanitarian support for North Korea and a “recovery of similarity” between North and South, and stronger international coordination to build up support for reunification.

Humanitarian aid, which is one of the administration’s key principles, would indeed help to improve inter-Korean relations. But no solution looks to be in sight for the nuclear issue, and attempts to strengthen international coordination are very likely to draw objections from Pyongyang.

Perhaps the standout moment from the press conference came when Park remarked on North Korea’s recent New Year’s address. “In this year’s address, North Korea talked about improving inter-Korean relations, and that in itself is something I welcome,” she said.

The message stood in stark contrast with the unanimously negative responses from the Ministers of Unification, Foreign Affairs, and National Defense that came just after Kim’s remarks about improving relations. Of course, the emphasis on “actions” and “sincerity” that came after the remarks was consistent with their stances.

Park’s direct reference to the purge of former Workers’ Party of Korea administrative department director Jang Song-thaek was also ill-judged in terms of both inter-Korean relations and diplomatic protocol.

During the press conference, Park expressed her negative views about the regime in Pyongyang, saying, “Seeing the execution of Jang Song-thaek may have given another sense of the reality of North Korea.”

She also made reference to the possibility of political upheavals.

“No one this world can say for certain what is going to happen with North Korea or what behavior it will come out with,” she said. “We need to consider every possibility and make thorough preparations.”

Park’s remarks look almost certain to draw denunciations from North Korea.

While Park did make some reference to improving ties with Pyongyang, analysts said the impact of the press conference was undercut by the absence of any visible evolution on the demand for prior steps toward denuclearization as a condition for improvements, or on the reopening of tourism at Mt. Keumgang.

“The fact that the President said she welcomed North Korea’s New Year’s address, or that she acknowledged the need for inter-Korean dialogue, is a positive thing,” said Paik Hak-soon, a researcher at the Sejong Institute. “But it’s unfortunate that we’re not seeing any efforts from South Korea to respond more proactively to North Korea‘s calls for dialogue.”

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