(News Focus) N. Korean leader gives Carter cold shoulder in possible message to U.S.

By Chang Jae-soon
SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Yonhap) -- North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has snubbed former
U.S. President Jimmy Carter after all, dashing hopes that the renowned
peacemaker's first trip to Pyongyang in 16 years could pave the way for a
breakthrough in the deadlocked ties between the foes.
Few doubted Carter would meet with Kim when he visited Pyongyang this week on a
mission to bring home an American citizen detained in the communist nation since
January. But the reclusive leader left on the night Carter arrived on an
extremely rare second trip to China within a three-month period.
Carter is considered a symbolic figure in the Korean Peninsula nuclear and peace
issues. The 85-year-old built his image as a peacemaker and a troubleshooter when
he visited North Korea in 1994 amid intensifying nuclear tensions and met with
then leader and national founder Kim Il-sung.
His negotiations led to a landmark nuclear disarmament deal between Pyongyang and
Washington, known as the Agreed Framework, though the agreement later fell apart
with the outbreak of another nuclear standoff in late 2002.
Carter extended his stay in the North for another day, but Kim did not returned
home by the time he left Friday with the freed American, Aijalon Mahli Gomes, who
had been sentenced to eight years of hard labor for illegal entry in January.
"I think it is a diplomatic gaffe," Lee Sang-hyun, a senior researcher at Sejong
Institute, said of the lack of a meeting between Kim and Carter. "Kim Jong-il
could have wanted to show the United States that he is not an easy counterpart to
handle."
Lee also said that Kim's cold shoulder toward Carter could also be a reaction to
the hard-line U.S. stance on the communist regime that includes placing tough
financial sanctions on the country and staging massive joint military drills with
South Korea in the wake of the March sinking of a South Korean warship.
Another possible reason for Kim's unexpected move could be that the totalitarian
leader might have wanted to show the people that he is strong enough to snub a
former American president, Lee said, as the regime is apparently working on a
leadership succession scheme.
Carter arrived in Pyongyang on Wednesday and had talks and dinner with Kim's
deputy and the country's ceremonial head of state, Kim Yong-nam, later in the
day. That contrasts with last year's visit to Pyongyang by former U.S. President
Bill Clinton.
Clinton also went to the North to bring two detained American journalists home.
But his two-day stay there included a meeting with a broadly-smiling Kim, though
Clinton sought to project a "businesslike" look toward the leader of a nation
that conducted a nuclear test a few months earlier in defiance of the
international community.
Yoo Ho-yeol, a Korea University professor, said that Clinton's attitude could
have embarrassed Kim and ultimately affected his decision to skip a meeting with
Carter, as the U.S. government has repeatedly stressed that Carter's trip would
be purely private and humanitarian.
"Kim Jong-il could have rescheduled his trip to China if he wanted to meet with
Carter, but he didn't," the professor said. "He might have wanted to avoid facing
the same situation as last year."
Kim's snubbing of Carter may have also been an effort to show the domestic
audience his toughness, and his Chinese trip during Carter's visit to Pyongyang
could be seen as a message to Washington that the regime has the backing of
Beijing, the professor said.
Still, the North's Korean Central News Agency said Friday that the North's No. 2
leader reiterated to Carter Pyongyang's willingness to denuclearize and the
ex-U.S. president's trip "provided a favorable occasion of deepening the
understanding and building confidence between the two countries."
"North Korea's release of Gomes is not a bad thing, but there were much higher
hopes when Carter went there," Yoo said. "In that sense, it's like he came back
almost empty-handed."
jschang@yna.co.kr
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