hankyoreh

The South Korean delegation

By Choi Hyun-june, staff reporter

On Aug. 11, the South Korean government abruptly suggested holding a second round of meetings between high-ranking officials from North and South Korea.

“A message was sent to North Korea in the name of chief South Korean representative Kim Kyou-hyun proposing that a second round of meetings take place between high-ranking officials from both sides,” a senior government official said on Monday afternoon. Taking into account the time needed for preparations, the South Korean government proposed Aug. 19 as the day of the meeting and suggested holding it in the Unification Pavilion on the north side of Panmunjeom Peace Village. This would be a follow-up to the first round of meetings between high-ranking officials from North and South, which took place on Feb. 12 and Feb. 14.

“We told North Korea that we hope to discuss various topics of interest to both sides, including the idea of holding reunions for divided families around Chuseok,” the government also said. Chuseok, the Korean harvest festival, is on Sept. 8 this year.

Holding reunions for families divided by the Korean War is a major item of interest for South Korea, as well as one of President Park Geun-hye’s campaign pledges.

“Our position is that there are no limitations on the topics for discussion,” said a Ministry of Unification official. “In addition to rolling back the May 24 measures and resuming tourism to Mt. Keumgang, we can also talk about the issue of the cheering squad for the Incheon Asian Games, which is what was being discussed when the recent working-level talks reached an impasse.”

The South’s sudden proposal to hold a second round of high-level talks is unexpected, many observers say, considering the passive attitude the government had adopted toward improving inter-Korean relations.

“Since President Park Geun-hye started talking about unification as jackpot at the beginning of the year, absolutely no progress has been made in inter-Korean relations. This proposal appears to be aimed at using relations with North Korea to seize the initiative in bringing about a shift in domestic politics,” said one North Korea expert on condition of anonymity.

Park is releasing part of the material from her Liberation Day congratulatory address early, some analysts think. Since Pope Francis is visiting South Korea around Liberation Day, which falls on August 15, the public attention is likely to be focused on him at the time.

However, while the proposal may lead to a thaw in the chilled relations between North and South Korea, it appears unlikely that this will trigger major improvement in inter-Korean relations. The issue is that the South Korean government still refuses to lift the May 24 measures - the main issue dividing North and South Korea - until North Korea takes some kind of preliminary steps.

Nor do government officials deny these projections. “This meeting of high-ranking officials will be an opportunity to sound each other out as we discuss topics of mutual interest,” said one senior government official.

Pyongyang has not yet indicated whether it will accept Seoul’s proposal. “North Korea will not be able to respond right away. It will probably take them a few days,” one senior government official said.

However, considering that the proposed date of the talks is Aug. 19, immediately after the beginning of the Ulchi-Freedom Guardian US-ROK joint military drills to which North Korea is vehemently opposed, it will not be easy for the North to accept the proposal for talks, some observers believe. North Korea might also suggest an alternative date for the talks.

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