Can a Death Bring Reconciliation?
August 27, 2009
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Posted by Michael S. Langston
As has been known to happen in estranged sibling relationships when parents pass, the passing of former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung might have sparked a revival of talks between North & South Korea.
The current President Mr. Lee has taken a much harder line with North Korea than Mr. Kim (here):
…In the months before his death, the Nobel Peace laureate accused Seoul’s conservative government of backsliding into the traits of the military dictatorship he helped topple in the late 1980s. These scathing attacks were deeply embarrassing to the government because of Mr Kim’s stature as a leading architect of South Korea’s vibrant democracy…
But the differences between the two Presidents might be decreasing (here):
…his widely criticised policy of promoting political and economic exchanges with North Korea may be about to be revived, albeit in limited fashion, by one of its fiercest critics, the current president, Lee Myung-bak. Partly as a consequence, a new sense of tentative optimism is lightening the gloom on the Korean peninsula.
The South’s Mr Kim was the foremost proponent of engagement with North Korea as a means to bring lasting peace to the peninsula—what became known as his “sunshine” policy….
While (here):
…His government has voted in favour of a United Nations resolution condemning North Korea’s human-rights record and lent strong support to international efforts to impose comprehensive economic sanctions against the regime in Pyongyang. Mr Lee insists there will be no big dollops of aid until North Korea starts disarming, as it promised under a 2005 deal. Yet he has welcomed news that a delegation from North Korea will attend Mr Kim’s funeral.
That delegation appears to be part of a new approach by North Korea’s dictator, Kim Jong Il. After provoking the world’s wrath and economic sanctions by conducting a nuclear test in May, he is suddenly exuding friendliness…
It’s certainly natural to be skeptical of North Korea’s moves and intentions, but this is something to watch. If in the coming months real overtures or changes are made in the current relationship on the Korean Peninsula, it could be a sign that North Korea is trying to reach out to normalize relations with the international community which has always been North Korea’s main goal.
Categories: Foriegn Policy
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