By Chen Yi
SEOUL, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- The strained inter-Korean relationship went through a turn from "cooling down" to "warming up" in the outgoing 2009. However, it is still far from getting out of the deadlock as the two sides have different demands and still remain at odds over deep-seated issues, especially Pyongyang's nuclear program.
At present, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is making active efforts to improve the inter-Korean ties, regarding it as a "most significant national subject", while South Korea still takes the denuclearization of the DPRK as the top priority of its DPRK policy. Looking into the future, the inter-Korean relationship will continue to face the challenges of the nuclear issue.
TIES FURTHER COOL DOWN
During the first half of 2009, the inter-Korean ties, which have stepped into the frost of winter since the inauguration of South Korea's conservative government led by Lee Myung-bak in February 2008, further cooled down, deepening the confrontation on the peninsula.
Following the DPRK's controversial rocket launch in early April, the South Korean government decided to participate in the Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI), a U.S.-led nonproliferation campaign. But it repeatedly postponed the formal declaration considering the DPRK's strong reactions.
On May 25, when Seoul's government was struggling with political unrest caused by the death of former President Roh Moo-hyun, the DPRK declared it has successfully conducted its second underground nuclear test, fueling Seoul's anger.
In response, Seoul announced the same day that its civilians will be prevented from visiting the areas near Pyongyang and the Mount Kumgang for safety reasons, and non-priority facility objects will also not be allowed to go into the DPRK. On the following day, it officially announced to fully join the PSI.
On its part, the DPRK issued a three-point statement on May 27,saying that it saw the South's participation in the PSI as "declaration of war", and its army would take "military actions" as the armistice on the peninsula was invalidated. It also said the DPRK would not guarantee the safety of warships of U.S. and South Korea and civil ships sailing in the region.
The DPRK later reportedly test-fired short-range missiles several times, described by South Korean media as "imposing threat" on Seoul.
Moreover, in late March, DPRK detained a South Korean engineer working in the joint industrial complex at Kaesong, a border town of the DPRK, accusing him of publicly slandering its political regime, and alluring a female DPRK worker to defect from her nation. It also requested in June a substantial hike in the land fee of the joint park and salary of their workers there.
These events, which came in a chain of cause-and-effect, have a great negative impact on the development of the inter-Korean ties and the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula.
TENSIONS EASE AS DPRK SOFTENS STANCE
However, entering into the second half of the year, the inter-Korean ties warmed up unexpectedly as the DPRK showed signs of a softer tone towards the United States and South Korea, seeking a bilateral dialogue with Washington and the improvement of the relationship with Seoul.
With prior contacts between Washington and Pyongyang, former U.S. President Bill Clinton made a surprise visit to the DPRK in early August, and brought back two American television journalists who were sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for illegally entering the DPRK territory.
Spurred by the U.S. move, Hyun Jeong-eun, chairwoman of South Korea's Hyundai Group, also paid a visit to Pyongyang in the same month under the government's connivance. She met with DPRK top leader Kim Jong Il after extending her stay in Pyongyang several times to win the release of the detained South Korean worker in the Kaesong industrial park. The two sides also reached a five-point agreement on the issues such as the resumption of the Mt. Kumgang tourism project and the operation of the Kaesong Industrial Park, and holding a new round of family reunion event.
Moreover, in late August, the DPRK lifted cross-border traffic restrictions imposed since December 2008 in protest of Seoul's hard line policy on it.
The thawing continued when DPRK top leader Kim Jong Il sent a high-level condolence delegation to Seoul to mourn former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, who died on Aug. 18, and met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak. The delegation conveyed to the South Pyongyang's willingness to improve ties and re-boost economic cooperation with Seoul.
In a related move, the two sides agreed to hold a new round of reunions for families separated by the Korean War -- the first in nearly two years.
Later the DPRK also withdrew its demand for substantial wage and land fee rises at the joint Kaesong industrial park, released four detained South Korean fishermen who were accused of "illegally intruding" into its territorial waters, and normalized communication channels with the South.
With a series of conciliatory gestures by Pyongyang, the inter-Korean relationship embraced its "first spring" in Lee Myung-bak' s term.
High-ranking officials from both sides also reportedly have convened secret meetings to explore each other's bottom line, during which the two sides even touched upon the possibility of a third inter-Korean summit.
MORE EFFORTS NEEDED ON UNRESOLVED NUCLEAR ISSUE
However, despite the warming up of ties, Seoul and Pyongyang had very little in common with regard to the nuclear issue.
In mid August, South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said his government will push for a new picture to bring peace on the Korean Peninsula if Pyongyang gave up its nuclear weapons program. In September, Lee proposed a "grand bargain", calling on the DPRK to abandon its nuclear program and complete irreversible denuclearization in exchange for a security guarantee and economic aid granted by the international community. But both proposals seemed to be one-sided wishes, and did not receive active responses from the DPRK.
The disagreement on each other's solutions can be attributed to sharp disputes between the two sides on the origin and nature of the nuclear issue. Seoul took the nuclear issue as the focus of the bilateral ties, while Pyongyang insisted that a solution of the nuclear issue can be discussed only after it holds direct bilateral talks with the United States.
Stephen Bosworth, U.S. special representative for the DPRK policy, paid a visit to Pyongyang on Dec. 8-10, officially launching the U.S.-DPRK bilateral talks aimed to persuade the latter to return to the international nuclear disarmament negotiations. During the visit, the two nations reached a common understanding on the need for resuming the six-party talks and implementing the Joint Statement of September 2005.
The positive result signals that the DPRK's ties with Washington are expected to turn for the better, and also brings new opportunity for the development of the inter-Korean ties, as it is widely believed that the resumption of the stalled six-party talks will contribute to forming benign interactions among all the engaged partners, including the DPRK and South Korea.
However, uncertainties still remain as there is still a long way to go before the nuclear issue is finally settled even after Pyongyang really comes back to the international forum.
In addition, there are great differences in the two Koreas' demands and their views vis-a-vis the inter-Korean ties and the nuclear issue.
South Korea insisted to link the improvement of the inter-Korean ties with a solution of the nuclear issue. President Lee reaffirmed his government's stance in a television program on Nov.27, that the denuclearization of the DPRK remains the top priority of his government's inter-Korean ties.
However, the DPRK resolutely rejected the South's stand. Its official daily Rodong Sinmun said on Dec. 9 that the nuclear issue was a "totally bilateral issue" between Pyongyang and Washington, and it "had nothing to do with relations between the two Koreas", noting that Seoul's stand was "imposing pressure on the DPRK" and "irritating the relations" between the two sides.
The situation shows that in order to improve the inter-Korean ties, and maintain the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and Northeast Asia, DPRK and South Korea still need to make long-standing efforts, and the international community, including related parties engaged into the six-way talks, should also work together to create more favorable conditions for the peaceful resolution of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.
