The anticipated contact between Kim Jong Il’s “special delegation,” who are coming to Seoul to pay their respects to former President Kim Dae Jung, and the South Korean authorities is being keenly anticipated in inter-Korean circles. The conditions and the timing of the visit are ideal: only high-level figures have been included in the delegation, and their planned stay is relatively long; two days.
Featuring Secretary Kim Ki Nam, Kim Jong Il’s closest ally who, perhaps more than anyone, accompanies him on official activities, as well as Kim Yang Gun, Director of the United Front Department, the delegation is certainly a high-level one. If a meeting between North and South Korean authorities occurs, it could be auspicious, for these are North Korean officials who have the ear of Kim Jong Il himself.
Secretary Kim Ki Nam, a propaganda expert in charge of promoting the North Korean regime, also holds the post of Vice-Chair of the North Korean Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland. He was in attendance at the dinner between Kim Jong Il and former U.S. President Bill Clinton on August 4th.
Kim Yang Gun, the leader of the United Front Department, is also Director of the Asia Pacific Peace Committee. He was also present in the recent meeting between Kim Jong Il and Hyun Jung Eun, the President of Hyundai Group. In a separate meeting, he and President Hyun discussed inter-Korean exchange projects and fine-tuned the agreement on five cooperative projects.
Both these figures have played direct roles in North Korea’s U.S. and South Korea policies. Furthermore, the fact that the delegation to the official funeral of President Kim Dae Jung is mostly comprised of government figures does suggest that a high-level meeting between North and South Korea may be held during their stay.
On the other hand, the South Korean government seems hesitant to give a decision on the matter. From the viewpoint of achieving a possible breakthrough in inter-Korean relations there is much to anticipate, but the risk of any meeting with the delegation being adversely used in North Korean political propaganda cannot be ruled out. A meeting with the delegation is essentially something which is hard to pass up, even though it may not prove to be too helpful.
As a result, the government has been cautious from the outset. Ministry of Unification spokesperson Cheon Hae Sung stated on the 20th, “The delegation is coming to express the North’s condolences and cherish the memory of former President Kim Dae Jung. A separate meeting has not been planned with the South Korean authorities nor have we received such a request.”
In other words, the “objective” of the delegation is clear, and there has been no proposal for dialogue. However, Spokesperson Cheon avoided replying to the question of whether the government would agree to a meeting if such a request were made, only noting, “This depends on the situation.”
But the South Korean government, which has emphasized that dialogue must be unconditional until now, has no justification for denying such a request. Rather, it may benefit the administration to respond enthusiastically.
Kim Young Soo, a professor at Sogang University, explained, “The ‘objective’ of the delegation is clear, so it will be difficult to discuss inter-Korean relations, but the delegation could still play the role of ‘messenger,’ relaying the position of the South Korean government to Kim Jong Il. The government, which ought to pursue a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations, must not miss out on this opportunity.”
Furthermore, Professor Kim said, “If North Korea relayed its view on inter-Korean economic exchanges through Hyundai President Hyun Jung Eun, then we should relay our position through the visiting delegation. We must pass the ‘ball’ into the North’s court, inducing it to reach a political decision.”
Interestingly, however, the possibility of North Korea proposing a meeting is unlikely according to Song Dae Sung, the president of the Sejong Institute. “It is highly probable that our government… will attempt an informal dialogue,” he commented, “but the delegation will most likely focus on praising the Sunshine Policy of the Kim Dae Jung-Roh Moo Hyun administrations by honoring former President Kim, the signatory to the June 15th Joint Declaration, and will thus indirectly attack the Lee Myung Bak administration’s North Korea policy.”
So, overall, there are a number of reasons why the two parties may not end up meeting at all.
Above all, not only has the North Korean delegation completely excluded the South Korean authorities from its preparations, but may also harbor other political objectives beyond improving inter-Korean relations.
In which case, there is no need for the South Korean government to get caught up in the North’s plans to stir up tensions in South Korea through a policy of alienating the administration while engaging South Korean citizens. A person related to the government said, “This [the delegation’s visit] is not an official channel between the authorities of the two sides, so the South Korean government will not make the first move of proposing a meeting, especially given the possibility that such a meeting could be used as political propaganda.”
Some experts also point out that even if the North proposed a meeting, a dialogue with the Minister of Unification, the creator of North Korea policy, or high-level figures at the Blue House would not be appropriate. As long as the aim of the delegation’s visit to South Korea is clear and there are no other items on which agreements need to be made, it seems unnecessary to discuss the topic of inter-Korean relations without prior arrangement.
