U.S. President Barack Obama marked 100 days in office on April 29. During his inauguration speech last January, President Obama pledged to present a diplomatic strategy of “smart power” based on dialogue, in order to pursue reconciliation and cooperation. The key initiative of the Obama administration’s North Korea policy, so far, has been tough and direct diplomacy, with the ultimate goal being the complete dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear programs through unconditional dialogue. With a new president in the White House, expectations run high for improved relations between North Korea and the U.S. Here’s Dr. Hong Hyun-ik from the Sejong Research Institute to explain how diplomatic experts evaluate the Obama government’s North Korea policy during its first 100 days.

Many were anticipating a considerable progress in North Korea-U.S. ties because the Obama administration hinted at tough, direct and high-level negotiations with North Korea even before its inauguration. 100 days have passed since Obama took office, but there has been little progress in relations between the two countries. On the contrary, their current ties appear to be even more distant than those in the last days of the Bush administration, with North Korea proceeding with a rocket launch in a provocative move, while the U.S. remains rather lukewarm about dialogue with Pyongyang. When it comes to a North Korea policy, the Obama administration isn’t much different from its predecessor. At present, there’s nothing conspicuous in Obama’s North Korea policy.

The Obama administration has so far displayed its “smart power” by using diplomacy as the main tool in dealing with troubled regions: the U.S. has been seeking reconciliation with several Islamic nations, while promoting cooperation with Venezuela and Cuba. On the other hand, Washington’s diplomacy hasn’t taken effect yet in relations with North Korea. Some point out that the Obama administration has yet to complete its North Korean policy and relevant personnel selection. Negotiations between the North and the U.S. haven’t proceeded smoothly, contrary to Pyongyang’s earlier expectations, and the communist country is stepping up its pressure against the U.S. A Foreign Ministry spokesman in the North said on April 25 that the nation started reprocessing spent fuel rods at its main nuclear complex in Yongbyon. On a more confrontational note, the North threatened on Wednesday to conduct a nuclear test and test-fire an intercontinental ballistic missile for self-defense in response to the U.N. Security Council’s presidential statement condemning the April 5th rocket launch. Unless the Security Council apologizes, North Korea says it will move forward with its threats. Experts interpret the North’s defiant moves as its discontent with the international community and as a strategy to prod the U.S. into dialogue with the North.

North Korea responds strongly to the decision of South Korea, Japan and the U.S. to impose sanctions against the North for its provocative rocket launch, which Pyongyang claims to be an exercise of its sovereign power aimed at peaceful use of space. Regarding the two detained American journalists, Pyongyang is attempting to hold them hostage in an apparent bid to soften Washington’s hard-line stance toward the North. In brief, if foreign countries employ strong policies when dealing with North Korea, the Kim Jong-il regime gets even tougher toward them. This is the North’s typical and official response to the outside world. A series of recent hostile actions taken by North Korea signal its intent to abandon all the agreements made at the previous six-party nuclear talks and resolve the nuclear issue through bilateral negotiations with the U.S.

But North Korea’s repeated brinkmanship tactics aimed at drawing more attention from the U.S have only received a cold response from Washington. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said during her visit to Iraq on April 25 that the U.S. will continue to press Pyongyang to return to its nuclear disarmament obligations. In an interview with Fox News the following day, she also said the U.S. wasn’t satisfied with the present situation and it would not let North Korea continue its nuclear proliferation activities. Clinton never mentioned North Korea at a hearing of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs on April 22 in a strategic move to “ignore” North Korea’s repeated threats. The U.S. still leaves open the possibility of dialogue with North Korea, despite these warning messages. But diplomatic experts predict North Korea-U.S. relations will undergo a cold spell for the time being.

It would be hard for the U.S. to make a conciliatory gesture toward North Korea right now, with the North’s rocket launch worsening the security conditions on the Korean Peninsula. After some time, China, which chairs the six-party nuclear talks, will move to arbitrate between North Korea and the U.S. South Korea, for its part, will realize the protracted setback in inter-Korean relations and the aggravating security conditions in the region won’t be helpful for its own national interest. Seoul will then ask the U.S. to try dialogue with the North. After going through a cooling-off period, North Korea and the U.S. are expected to start to hold high-level talks, sometime in late May or June.

Meanwhile, the U.N. Security Council placed three North Korean companies on the list of sanctions on April 24, following its adoption of a presidential statement denouncing North Korea’s rocket launch. Participants of the six-way talks, except North Korea, are committed to creating dialogue momentum, urging the North to return to the multilateral negotiations. Foreign ministers from South Korea and Russia held a meeting on April 24 and agreed to cooperate to continue the six-way talks. On the same day, U.S. President Barack Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso also shared views on the need for making efforts to resume the six-party talks. Dr. Hong says there are many preliminary jobs before the resumption of the talks.

China is most eager to reconvene the six-party talks. As the host country of the negotiations and a close ally of North Korea, Beijing will make active efforts to resume the stalled talks. Once North Korea and the U.S. start dialogue through China’s mediation, the U.S., China and Russia will then need to persuade the North to participate both in the six-party talks and bilateral negotiations with the U.S. It’s also necessary for South and North Korea to mend their ties, while North Korea and Japan should find a breakthrough for their complicated, hostile relations. Only after all this preliminary work will the negotiators be able to create a mood for restarting the six-party talks.

The U.S. is expected to seek dialogue with North Korea and discuss the resumption of the six-way talks after it wraps up the review of its North Korea policy and personnel approval. The Obama administration’s diplomatic principle is to find solutions through dialogue and acknowledgment of its counterparts. Based on this principle, the U.S. must come up with pragmatic measures to draw isolated, reclusive North Korea to the negotiation table.
[Interview]‘Yoduk Story’ Director is Back with Romantic Comedy, “Great Show”
The musical “Great Show” raised its curtain at Goyang Aramnuri Theater, northwest of Seoul, on March 17. The musical describes love between a South Korean top female singer and a North Korean officer. This is the second musical piece of Jeong Seong-san, the former North Korean defector who directed the 2006 musical “Yoduk Story,” which portrayed the tragic reality of a North Korean prison camp. The new production is also about North Korea, but it is a more lighthearted romantic comedy, which revolves around a sexy K-pop star in South Korea, whose music video has made its way to North Korea. Here’s director Jeong.

The title of the musical, “Great Show,” implies the greatest and much-awaited show. I believe reunification of Korea will be the greatest-ever show for Koreans, since it is their ardent, long-cherished dream. That was how I came up with this title. It is said the younger generation, including those in their teens and 20s, is indifferent to North Korea and unification issues. To appeal more to those young audience members, I included entertaining elements in the show, such as light music, modern choreography and a comic love story.

Although the formality and setting of the new musical is different from the previous one, Director Jeong stresses that his affection for North Korea never wanes. The musical highlights new aspects of North Korean men, who have been traditionally viewed as tough and conservative. But the North Korean officer in the show is actually very romantic, helping South Korean audiences shake off the grave image of North Korea. The musical does criticize the North’s political and social systems, while the actors’ and actresses’ hilarious North Korean accent adds fun to the show. Director Jeong graduated from the Pyongyang College of Theater and Film in North Korea. After defecting to South Korea, he had high expectations for film production, something he was confident about. But he was simply viewed as a defector, rather than a movie director, in South Korean society. He participated in the adaptation work for movies with the theme of North Korea, such as “Shiri” and “Joint Security Area,” and accumulated experience under renowned South Korean film directors. But that wasn’t enough to overcome the prejudice against North Korean defectors. In the face of many difficulties, Jeong never gave up on his dream and finally made his first musical “Yoduk Story” a success. And he now returns with his new production, “Great Show.” Jeong explains why he has devoted his life to producing musicals about North Korea.

Actually, I thought “Yoduk Story” would be the last show about North Korea. So, I was preparing for a new, comic musical to depict the drinking culture of South Korean people in a humorous way. But before completing the show, I discovered my nephews had attempted to defect to South Korea, only to fail. That was April of last year. And I realized again I should take the lead in promoting art and culture of North Korean defectors, and it was my job to continue to let South Korean people know about the North. For me, North Korea is a cultural channel through which I continue to express my affection for my home country and present my South Korean fellows with a future vision for unification. I hope I can serve as a steppingstone to easing cultural estrangement between the two Koreas. $(document).ready(function(){ let LTR = {'rtl': false}; const lang = 'e'; if(lang === 'a'){ LTR['rtl'] = true; } $('.js-tyle-gallery').slick({ dots: false, autoplay: true, infinite: false, swipe: true, ...LTR, swipeToSlide: true, slidesToShow: 1, slidesToScroll: 1 }); });