More overtures from North Korea in the offing, experts say

Pyongyang has recently extended proposals for the two Koreas
open dialogue in what appears to be a follow-up to an invitation from Kim Jong
Un to hold military talks during the 7th Party Congress held early this month.

On Friday, the North sent an open letter from the National
Defense Commission urging Seoul to respond without delay to Kim Jong Un’s
proposal for inter-Korean military talks, and the following day, it suggested
through a note from the Ministry of People’s Armed Forces that the two sides
open working-level talks between late May and early June to prepare for
military dialogue.

In response to this, South Korea’s defense ministry said it
will stand by its position of “placing the utmost priority on the North’s
denuclearization before engaging in dialogue,” in effect turning down the
offer.  

Experts believe Pyongyang’s recent moves are part of a peace
offensive, aimed at breaking up international sanctions efforts and create a
divide within the South. Some also say with its newly attained confidence regarding nuclear weapons development, Pyongyang is looking to secure the upper hand in
dialogue by proposing military talks.

“The proposal for talks this time around is part of its
commitment to realize what Kim Jong Un said about the possibility of holding
dialogue during the Party Congress. It’s also expressing its desire to take the
lead in inter-Korean relations in the future,” Director Jeon Hyeon Jun from the
Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Institute said.

Having been just appointed to the new post of Party
chairman, Kim Jong Un is also looking to control relations with other parties
outside of the country, Jeon added. “The North will look to mutually halt
slander and cross-border loudspeaker propaganda through military talks, while
indirectly asking the South recognize Kim Jong Un as a true leader,” the director
speculated.

Yoo Dong Youl, the head of Korean Institute of Liberal
Democracy, also weighed in, stating he believes the North proposed talks to
assert within the global community that it is working to attain peace on the
Korean Peninsula. “Also, it’s trying to ride on the movement within the South
for dialogue to create a division,” Yoo noted.

“It very well
knows we will turn down the offer for talks, so it’s looking for pretext to
carry out another missile test or other provocations,” Yoo explained. 

“Now with the opposition parties holding the parliamentary majority, the North
seems to have a number of different agendas–one of them being transferring the
blame of shattered relations to the South Korean government and adding
pressure.”

North Korea is expected to maintain this push for dialogue by using different agencies and officials related to
inter-Korean relations especially with the 16th anniversary of the June 15
Joint Declaration and the 71st anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan
coming up in August.