With one more day left until the South-North railroad test (16th), Unification Minister Lee Jae Jung seemed more than confident at the South-North Economic Cooperation Forum. It seems that he is convinced that he has achieved what he had set out to do.
On this day, Minister Lee even rebuked the public, “The people must reflect upon how much effort they have placed on protecting peace.”
Minister Lee remarked continuing his optimistic views, “Tomorrow is truly a precedent in history. This is the beginning of peace that derives from layers of confidence built between the South and North.” These views were based on a long list of numbers indicating economic cooperation with North Korea.
He said, “Prior to 2000, the number of people traveling between the South and North didn’t even reach 8,000, but last year this figure exceeded 10,000 or 13 times more” and added, “Operations at Kaesong Complex began 2 years ago with more than 13,000 North Korean workers and an accumulated output surpassing $100mn.” “The number of vessels has also increased as the South and North made an agreement on shipping” he explained.
Every time Minister Lee explained each proposal, he continuously claimed that the “evidence shows that efforts had been made for South-North reconciliation and inter-cooperation” and the “evidence shows that the width and depth of trust between the South-North has increased.”
In particular, he stressed the importance of the South-North railroad test saying, “A new history will begin soon opening the land, ocean and sea” and said, “Ensuring peace on the Korean Peninsula is up to us.”
Nonetheless, the 20 minutes or so speech that Minister Lee pressed felt like it had missed a critical point. He seemed to have over-exaggerated the glossy points and viable results produced by the current government and seemed to neglect the fact that the government’s 4 year plan to advance South-North relations had in fact been treated as a golden goose.
What I would like to ask Minister Lee is whether or not there actually was a single North Korean citizen who visited South Korean freely or a South Korean visitor who conversed freely with North Korean people without any restraints.
How does he perceive the North Korean authorities who consider the taxes of South Korean citizens, which support Kaesong Complex and the South-North cooperation, as their own pocket-money?
The only reason that North Korea was able to secure their military was because South Korea kindly provided the materials to initiate a railroad test between the South-North worth $8bn while supporting an additional 400,000tons of rice as a loan. This is money that was used for a one-off rail trip.
For the last 10 years, a total of 8.6 trillion won (US$9.3 billion) has been used to fund North Korea. The Roh Moo Hyun government alone spent more than 3 trillion won. During this time, North Korea launched an ICBM and conducted a nuclear test, not to mention creating a commotion sparking the South-North relationship throughout the world. Yet Minister Lee still frets that not enough aid was given and simply insists that North Korean poverty caused Kim Jong Il to carry out the nuclear test.
The test run will undoubtedly have a symbolic affect considering the 56 year gap that disconnected the South and the North. However, if this test ends as nothing more than a “disposable surprise show,” then this “railroad event” which required billions of dollars, will end up being futile. Just as much as the rail operation is symbolic, it could also act as a black hole draining the taxes of the South Korean people.
Ultimately, cooperation between the South and North can only eliminate the side-effects if North Korea denuclearizes and makes fundamental reforms. As it stands now, the South-North cooperation will fall apart if South Korea ends its supply of materials and financial aid. Hence, is it not more than a little early for Minister Lee to be praising himself especially concerning this kind of lop-sided cooperation with the North?
