Experts have raised considerable doubts over the sincerity of North Korea’s apparent move towards dialogue, suggesting that it has more to do with extracting aid and assistance than any seriousness of purpose in terms of denuclearization.
North Korea made its move on Friday, when Wi Sung Lac, South Korea’s Special Representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs and Lee Yong Ho, North Korea’s Vice Foreign Minister, met in Bali, a meeting which an official with South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade today called “a chance to get an understanding of each other.”
The move appears also to have opened the way to North Korea entering into discussion with the U.S., with Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye Gwan set to go there on the 28th.
However, some experts see the change in North Korea’s attitude as insincere, caused primarily by it’s internal and external situation, with Pyongyang trying to freshen up its image so as to increase the chances of successfully extracting economic aid.
A researcher with the Korean Economic Research Institute, Lee Choon Kun told The Daily NK today, “North Korea is always changing its look. There is no special meaning. The only reason is that they are short of food, so they are asking South Korea and the U.S. for talks.”
Park Young Ho of the Korea Institute for National Unification agreed, saying, “Next year is when they are supposed to become a strong and prosperous state. In order to do that, supplies of materials are necessary. In this situation, the authorities may be acknowledging that some material benefits should go to the people. Therefore, the existing strong and aggressive posture cannot be maintained.”
He added, “North Korea has been pursuing expanded economic cooperation with China. While doing that, the North may have showed China that they accept the idea of three-step talks, which China has also agreed to.”
However, he pointed out, “North Korea has never thrown away its carrot-and-stick strategy.”
Professor Kim Sung Han of Korea University added that he sees North Korea’s latest gesture as a tactics to water down the South’s pressure for it to take responsibility for the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong Island incidents.
Professor Kim explained, “North Korea considered the encounter between the foreign ministers of North and South to be an official meeting, and the South did not mention anything about the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong Island issues. This has provided North Korea with a favorable situation. North Korea’s purpose is to water down the issues of the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong Island, and have talks with the U.S.”
Lee agreed, concluding, “This appeasement phase is not (in order for North Korea) to form an atmosphere to improve inter-Korean relations. It is just a tactic to cover over the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong Island issues.”
