ID :
183121
Thu, 05/19/2011 - 12:33
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/183121
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Koreas should seek positive dialogue and cooperation
SEOUL (Yonhap) - The stalemate in South-North Korean relations has been protracted, and the end of the long dark tunnel is not visible. There were expectations of dialogue between the two sides early this year, but those hopes were scrapped as the North failed to show sincerity.
It is fortunate that there has been contact to discuss President Lee Myung-bak's offer to invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to a major international security summit in Seoul next year, although the prospects of North Korea's acceptance of the so-called Berlin proposal are low. The North initially denounced the proposal, which includes prerequisites that are difficult for Pyongyang to accept.
The prolonged stalemate stems from the struggle of both sides aimed at taking the lead in future negotiations. With the inauguration of South Korea's current administration in February 2008, Lee suggested a policy for dialogue with the North that offers the North economic support to help it attain per capita income of US$3,000 on the condition that it discards its nuclear program and opens its society. North Korea turned down the offer.
Confrontation between the two sides was intensified further with the shooting death of a South Korean tourist at a North Korean tourist resort mountain in July 2008. The South in concert with the United States pressured Pyongyang to change. The North answered with instigating conflicts in the South and committed unprecedented provocations -- a torpedo attack on a South Korean naval vessel and an artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island near the border with South Korea last year -- escalating the tension on the peninsula to the highest level in decades.
Amid such tensed confrontation, a consensus has been reached among related countries to resolve the problem peacefully through three sets of staged talks -- from bilateral talks between nuclear envoys of the two Koreas to U.S.-North Korea dialogue and finally the resumption of six-party talks on the North's denuclearization.
However, the prospects for the resumption of South-North dialogue, the first step of the process, are unclear. If the bilateral dialogue and negotiations do not progress, the two Koreas may have to be brushed aside from the process and the initiative may go to the hands of the U.S. and China.
In this context, the two Koreas should seek dialogue and cooperation, conceding from continuing extreme confrontation.
To induce North Korea's change, there is a necessity for South Korea to change first with more accommodation. A former Unification Ministry official advised that the South should employ flexible tactics in inter-Korean relations in order not to lose the initiative to foreign powers.
There is also a view that the South should review its policy regarding the resumption of food aid to the North, which would help Seoul to take the lead in the process of denuclearizing North Korea and improving inter-Korean relations.
North Korea should realize that the help of the South is essential for it to resolve food shortages and an economic crisis, and escape from international isolation.
We expect North Korea to comply with the South's call for dialogue with sincerity.
It is fortunate that there has been contact to discuss President Lee Myung-bak's offer to invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to a major international security summit in Seoul next year, although the prospects of North Korea's acceptance of the so-called Berlin proposal are low. The North initially denounced the proposal, which includes prerequisites that are difficult for Pyongyang to accept.
The prolonged stalemate stems from the struggle of both sides aimed at taking the lead in future negotiations. With the inauguration of South Korea's current administration in February 2008, Lee suggested a policy for dialogue with the North that offers the North economic support to help it attain per capita income of US$3,000 on the condition that it discards its nuclear program and opens its society. North Korea turned down the offer.
Confrontation between the two sides was intensified further with the shooting death of a South Korean tourist at a North Korean tourist resort mountain in July 2008. The South in concert with the United States pressured Pyongyang to change. The North answered with instigating conflicts in the South and committed unprecedented provocations -- a torpedo attack on a South Korean naval vessel and an artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island near the border with South Korea last year -- escalating the tension on the peninsula to the highest level in decades.
Amid such tensed confrontation, a consensus has been reached among related countries to resolve the problem peacefully through three sets of staged talks -- from bilateral talks between nuclear envoys of the two Koreas to U.S.-North Korea dialogue and finally the resumption of six-party talks on the North's denuclearization.
However, the prospects for the resumption of South-North dialogue, the first step of the process, are unclear. If the bilateral dialogue and negotiations do not progress, the two Koreas may have to be brushed aside from the process and the initiative may go to the hands of the U.S. and China.
In this context, the two Koreas should seek dialogue and cooperation, conceding from continuing extreme confrontation.
To induce North Korea's change, there is a necessity for South Korea to change first with more accommodation. A former Unification Ministry official advised that the South should employ flexible tactics in inter-Korean relations in order not to lose the initiative to foreign powers.
There is also a view that the South should review its policy regarding the resumption of food aid to the North, which would help Seoul to take the lead in the process of denuclearizing North Korea and improving inter-Korean relations.
North Korea should realize that the help of the South is essential for it to resolve food shortages and an economic crisis, and escape from international isolation.
We expect North Korea to comply with the South's call for dialogue with sincerity.
