Three wasted years

The meetings between top diplomats of South and North Korea over the weekend were meaningful at least for two reasons.
First, although they met on the sidelines of the ASEAN Regional Forum in Bali, Indonesia, these were the first ``open??? inter-Korean contacts in nearly three years. Second, the two Koreas discussed denuclearization issue ``bilaterally??? for the first time.
South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan said, ``South and North Korea should take the lead in denuclearization talks.??? Kim added that his North Korean counterpart, Park Ui-chun, expressed ``considerable sympathy (to such a need).???
One might as well wonder if the two Koreas have decided to shift to formal talks and discuss matters between themselves. Aside from the gap between diplomatic wishes and stark reality, there are reasons barring hasty optimism.
Above all, it would be correct to say the Koreas were pushed to face each other by their respective patrons, namely the United States and China, which cannot afford to see any further escalation of tension on the Korean Peninsula, for their own domestic reasons.
The Lee Myung-bak administration for its part should be conscious of the domestic criticism that it has done nothing to improve inter-Korean relations or rather aggravated them, a negative factor in key elections next year. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il also badly needs to break the impasse and international isolation to keep his promise, or at least appear to do so, of making his a ``strong and prosperous??? country by 2012.
Chances are high that Pyongyang is just making a minimal gesture of sincerity to open direct talks with the United States. For Kim, denuclearization would be too big a present to give to South Korea. It is something set aside for Washington in return for diplomatic normalization and lifting the economic blockade.
In that case, Seoul would also likely stick to its economic sanctions, strictly limiting its aid to the most narrowly-defined humanitarian purposes.
A Cheong Wa Dae official???s remark on a ``three-track??? approach backs up this gloomy presumption. He said the government will take three-pronged approach in dealing with North Korea: joining as a party in the multilateral issue of denuclearization; tightly linking the issue of bilateral cooperation, such as the resumption of tourism and economic projects, to North Korea???s apology for its military provocations in the West Sea last year; and humanitarian aid.
The new strategy might appear justifiable from Seoul???s standpoint, but is too passive to find a breakthrough in the deadlocked inter-Korean relationship. South Korea needs to be far bolder than that to take the initiative in issues that determine the fate of the Korean Peninsula.
Foreign minister Kim???s emphasis on a Korean initiative in the nuclear issue is desirable. The wish could have been far closer to reality, however, had the Lee administration taken up where its predecessor left off three and a half years ago. It is regrettable if the incumbent government has come to realize this with little more than a year left.
As long as both Koreas try to dominate each other with the help of their respective allies, they can???t help avoid being pawns in the latter???s chess game.
Koreans have yet to experience genuine national liberation, as they met it divided and unprepared 66 years go. The same will be true with national reunification if it is made feasible by others with Koreans divided and unprepared as they are now.
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