Inter-Korean talks
As the ministerial-level inter-Korean talks reopen in Pyongyang, delegates will take up more or less the same agenda the two Koreas have tackled over the past several years: Seoul's humanitarian and economic aid to the North, military confidence-building measures, and the reunion of separated families, etc.
If the Feb. 13 agreement at the Beijing six-party talks on a conditional shutdown of North Korean nuclear facilities can add a positive atmosphere to the negotiations - that resumed after a seven-month interval - we may also witness some swaggering by the North because of its recently tested nuclear weapons capability. However the northerners' attitude may change, Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung, who is heading the southern delegation for the first time, should make a firm and clear offer of what we can give them, and demand what we rightfully deserve in return.
The North Koreans are expected to ask for the usual 500,000 tons of rice and 350,000 tons of fertilizer this spring. There can be additional requests for large amounts of grain and fertilizer which was embargoed following the missile tests on July 5 last year. The southern delegation is advised not to make any commitment to such a solicitation since a continuation of the aid should depend on how the North will implement its part of the Beijing agreement.
One thing the northerners should be taught through the inter-Korean dialogue is that public opinion in the South serves as the primary guideline for aid to the North. Minister Lee should let the North Koreans understand that the best way for them to get increased aid from the South is to refrain from provoking the people here through its harsh words and deeds. Pyongyang's claim following the missile tests that its nuclear and missile development under the "military-first policy" was to "protect the South against external threats" is still ringing the ears of southern citizens. Their outrage over these statements is an ongoing obstruction to rice and fertilizer shipments.
The Seoul side will ask for another round of reunions for separated families, pointing to the advancing age of people dislocated during the war, and Pyongyang may arrange get-togethers in the Mt. Geumgang resort for a few hundred people from the North and South. North Korea has touted the reunions of an extremely limited number of separated families as a humanitarian project. But, for the millions of people who were left out, watching the chosen few meet their loved ones was even more painful.
The time has come to change the way these family meetings are conducted. A breakthrough should be sought during this ministerial conference, the 20th in seven years, to end the trickle of exchanges and broaden the scope of reunions so whoever had their relatives' whereabouts in the North confirmed, will be able to meet them in Mt. Geumgang or Gaeseong City.
The linking of highways and railroads at the western and eastern ends of the border, long delayed due to opposition from the northern military, should be completed promptly for its symbolic importance as well as practical needs for increased material exchanges in the future. Progress will be made only if the North intends to reduce the tension that it brought to new heights with its test of a nuclear device last year.
