North Korea-U.S. relations have entered a new phase, since former U.S. President Bill Clinton’s North Korea visit last week. Diplomatic experts are wondering whether the latest event will offer a dramatic breakthrough in the chilled relations between the two countries. A four-member delegation, including Mr. Clinton, visited Pyongyang on August 4 and returned to the U.S. the following day, taking the two female American reporters with them. The journalists were arrested by North Korea in March while working on a story near the border between North Korea and China. They were later sentenced to 12 years of hard labor. Fortunately, the two reporters were able to return home safe and sound, after five months of detention in the reclusive country. Diplomatic experts say Clinton’s Pyongyang visit brought the productive result of freeing the reporters, but more significantly, it contributed to a turnaround in relations between North Korea and the United States. Here’s Professor Kim Geun-sik at Gyeongnam University to explain.

Clinton’s surprise visit to North Korea and the subsequent release of the two detained American journalists helped create a favorable mood to facilitate negotiations and dialogue between North Korea and the U.S., in a major shift from the previous confrontational situation characterized by pressure and sanctions. Of course, the two countries won’t start negotiations right away simply because of the recent diplomatic event. Their relations won’t improve overnight, either. Still, the two countries are now showing signs of resolving various contentious issues. Both sides are expected to seek serious dialogue in any form down the road.

Also, last week’s meeting between Bill Clinton and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il drew special attention. North Korean media outlets, including Korean Central TV, reported that Clinton apologized for the American journalists’ illegal activity and also conveyed a verbal message from U.S. President Barack Obama reflecting his views on ways to improve relations between the two countries. But the U.S. government flatly denied the North’s report, saying that Bill Clinton was not a special envoy of the United States and his North Korea visit was solely a private mission. Nevertheless, many speculate that the North Korean leader and the former U.S. president discussed impending bilateral concerns, such as the nuclear issue, apart from the release of the reporters, given that Clinton is a high-level figure and the husband of the current secretary of state, Hillary Clinton.

Clinton held talks with Kim for about 200 minutes. I don’t think the two people simply exchanged formal greetings throughout the three-hour meeting. North Korea and the U.S. had already sought negotiations before Clinton’s Pyongyang visit: the U.S. offered the so-called “comprehensive package” to North Korea in exchange for the North agreeing to end its nuclear program. North Korea, too, said that it was wiling to engage in bilateral talks with the U.S. I imagine there were exchanges of various opinions and behind-the-scenes contacts between the two sides during Clinton’s recent North Korea visit.

Some experts speculate that Clinton’s North Korea visit shows another example of the North’s typical negotiations tactics in which North Korea extends an olive branch after a long, extreme confrontation. In June of 1994, when the nuclear standoff between North Korea and the Clinton administration reached its peak, Pyongyang invited former U.S. President Jimmy Carter. The communist country was able to find negotiation momentum in a dramatic turnaround from the previous tense situation and eventually elicited the Geneva Agreement. Inside the U.S., there are concerns that Washington could repeat the vicious circle of rewarding the communist state for poor behavior. The conservatives are criticizing the U.S. government for being dragged by North Korea. But Professor Kim voices a different opinion.

President Barack Obama, media agencies and the political community in the U.S alike make positive comments about the release of the two female journalists. Aside from the positive evaluations, the U.S. is strongly opposed to rewarding North Korea for simply returning to the negotiation table, as it did in the past. So it’s unlikely that the U.S. will be swayed by North Korea just because of Bill Clinton’s North Korea visit. The U.S. won’t likely move toward bilateral dialogue with the North right away. Even if bilateral talks are held, Washington will refrain from providing various economic benefits to the North simply because it participates in the negotiations. I imagine both sides will seek to create a mood for dialogue for the time being and coordinate their views on the format of dialogue, whether it is six-party talks or bilateral contact. For now, neither side will make concession to solve the problem.

So, when will the two countries address the nuclear issue seriously? After Clinton and the two American reporters returned home, the U.S. government stepped up its pressure against the North, saying Washington’s policies toward Pyongyang continue to remain unchanged. Professor Kim says the U.S. may find it burdensome to suddenly change its previous hard-line attitude and engage in dialogue with the North right away. Kim says both sides need to take a breather for the time being.

After the two female American reporters were set free, a friendly atmosphere has been formed between North Korea and the U.S. The two sides seem to be coordinating their views through behind-the-scenes contacts or their New York channel. North Korea needs to take more concrete action for denuclearization in order to attract attention from the Obama administration. For example, Kim Jong-il could reiterate his intent to dismantle the North’s nuclear programs, resume the suspended disablement of nuclear facilities or clearly express his will not to take any additional measures that might aggravate the situation. If North Korea shows such a flexible attitude first, the Obama government will then move toward dialogue with the North. The two sides will likely sound out each other’s positions this month and then create dialogue momentum at an appropriate time.

The release of the detained American journalists is unquestionably crucial momentum to improve North Korea-U.S. relations. This is also a rare chance to break the deadlocked diplomatic situation on the Korean Peninsula. Riding on the hard-earned thawing mood, the international community must devise detailed and feasible plans to resolve the nuclear crisis.


[Interview] S. Korean Students Organize English Camp for Peers from N. Korea
An English class is being conducted in a lecture room of the Seoul Church, located in Daechi-dong in southeastern Seoul. This special class is part of the “English immersion camp for teenagers from South and North Korea,” which started on July 27. Nearly 40 North Korean defector teenagers and South Korean students participated in the five-day event featuring a variety of programs, including English grammar classes. The North Korean students appeared to find quiz shows and role-playing games particularly interesting. The English camp is an opportunity for South Korean students to volunteer for the benefit of their North Korean counterparts who sometimes have a hard time adjusting to South Korean society due to economic difficulty and cultural difference. Here are two students, Lee Ji-eun and Kim Min-gyu, at Daewon Foreign Language High School, who organized the camp.

…I’ve been teaching English to North Korean defectors for a long time. While working as a volunteer, I’ve realized many North Korean newcomers had a hard time due to their poor English skills. I thought it would be better for the defectors to start learning English when they are younger, so I decided to focus on teaching English to teenagers.
…Many defectors find difficulty in using English in their everyday lives. I wanted to help my North Korean friends overcome this problem, so I encouraged them to speak English freely in role-playing games. I thought it would be meaningful to use my ability and skills for those who need them. That was why I decided to take part in this camp.

Ji-eun first learned about the problems some North Korean students face through Park Gwang-il, a protestant Christianity evangelist at the Seoul Church, who was a former North Korean defector. She suggested to her friend, Min-gyu that they develop an English camp. Min-gyu already had some experience teaching English to blind students, so he was easily convinced to begin a similar project. The two students organized programs, collected donations and invited native-speaking English teachers. They visited many acquaintances and institutions to explain their plan and enlist support, but few people were willing to help these high school students, despite their good intentions. Here again is Ji-eun.

Min-gyu and I visited many people, including our acquaintances and executives of large companies. We showed them our plan and explained its purpose, but it was difficult to derive support from them. Even though we had a good purpose and passion, few people showed trust in an event planned by high school students. I was also very worried about inviting foreigners. Fortunately, native-speaking English teachers from a group of foreign volunteers, known as Helping Others Prosper through English, or HOPE, were eager to participate in our camp. I really appreciate their help.

Sometimes, the two students felt exhausted because they had to prepare for the final exam, while examining programs of the English camp and collecting donations at the same time. But they were eventually able to open the camp with the belief that their small efforts will produce big rewards some day. They hope the camp program will contribute to achieving a small unification inside Korea.

…At first, I thought I could teach many things to my North Korean friends and show off my English skills as well. But I discovered many of them were older than I, and there were lots of things to learn from them.
…A “small unification” has a symbolic meaning. This is where South and North Korean teenagers get together, have conversations and get to know each other better without any prejudice. I believe mutual understanding will be the first step toward unification. For that reason, I hope to develop this English camp further.

Teenagers of South and North Korea will lead the future together. It is our task to create a social and cultural environment where they cast away prejudices against each other and share love and friendship.