hankyoreh

Jan. 20. Bae said during the press conference that he hopes cooperation between the US and North Korea can secure his release. (KCNA/Yonhap News)

By Choi Hyun-june, staff reporter

North Korea has announced its intention to send its men’s and women’s soccer teams to participate in the Incheon Asian Games in September and is asking for ‘reconciliation’ with South Korea in an attempt to improve inter-Korean relations.

On Jan. 16, North Korea made an official proposal to halt ‘mutual slander, libel, and offensive military actions’ in the name of its National Defense Commission. North Korea confirmed its determination to be the first to take action. Although the recent announcement isn’t related to any mutual slander, libel or offensive military actions, it is noteworthy for the possibility that it could lead to improvement of North-South relations through the mutual love of sports, an emblematic area of inter-Korean exchange and cooperation.

Given that it has been 12 years since North Korea participated in the 2002 Asian Games held in Busan, its participation in Incheon is especially meaningful. The 350 cheerleaders sent with the North Korean athletes drew great attention 12 years ago among South Korean people. Historically, sports have led to breakthroughs in solving conflicts between North and South Korea.

There were international friendly soccer matches held alternately in Seoul and Pyongyang in 1990; North and South Korea formed a unified team and participated in the World Table Tennis Championships in 1991 and athletes from North and South Korea marched together at the opening ceremony of the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Even last September, when the North and South exchange was at its risk, a weightlifting team from South Korea participated in the AFC Asian Cup in Pyongyang.

If the Asian Games are North Korea’s attempt to reconcile with the South, a press conference held by Kenneth Bae in Pyongyang in Jan. 20 can be seen as North Korea seeking to soften its relations with the US. Bae, who has been detained in North Korea for the longest stretch of anyone since the Korean War, said, “I am not being detained for no reason. I hope the US government cooperates closely with North Korea to release me earlier.” This was the first time that Bae had publicly sought help from the US government and his comments can also be thought to carry a message of North Korea’s wish for dialogue with the US.

The US State Department said on Jan. 20 that Washington is prepared to send Special Envoy for North Korea Ambassador Robert King to North Korea to seek Bae’s release. US officials are now awaiting North Korea’s response.

University of North Korean Studies Professor Yang Moo-jin said, “Bae’s press conference was held to send a message that North Korea wants dialogue with the US.” Bae‘s mother visited her son in North Korea in October 2013 but was unable to secure his release, so the US government’s response to the press conference is now crucial.

Bae entered Rason, North Hamgyong Province in North Korea as a tour guide in November 2012. He was arrested and investigated because one of the tourists in his group had an external hard drive that contained provocative materials. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the highest court for ‘anti-state acts’ and is now incarcerated.

A Ministry of Unification official said on condition of anonymity, “If North Korea takes steps to release Bae after the press conference, that could be considered as North Korea starting to take peaceful action.”