Leaders from South Korea, China and Japan held a summit in Beijing last week and reached consensus on a solution to the North Korean nuclear issue. The two-hour trilateral summit was held at the Great Hall of the People in the Chinese capital last Saturday. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao and Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama agreed on the practicality of the six-way talks and resolved to make joint efforts toward an early resumption of the multilateral negotiations. Here’s Professor Yu Ho-yeol from the North Korean Studies Department at Korea University to explain the implications of the three-way summit.

The summit is considered a meaningful venue for the three Northeast Asian countries discuss to their common, pressing issues. In particular, last week’s meeting came on the heels of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s North Korea visit. While in Pyongyang earlier last week, Wen reportedly held a lengthy discussion with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and reaffirmed Kim’s intention to return to multilateral talks, including the six-party negotiations, although conditionally. Wen later briefed the results of his Pyongyang visit on his South Korean and Japanese counterparts at the trilateral summit. The three leaders agreed that the six-party talks are a useful frame for addressing the nuclear crisis and promised to make joint efforts to achieve denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula.

During last week’s summit, President Lee Myung-bak reiterated that his “grand bargain” initiative would be a realistic option to induce North Korea to dismantle its nuclear programs. The “grand bargain” refers to a one-stop package agreement calling for the North’s denuclearization in exchange for security guarantees and economic aid from the international community. Hatoyama expressed support for the proposal and Wen said his country would also actively take part in discussions on the plan with an open attitude. So, the three countries are believed to have built a consensus on the “grand bargain” scheme. Meanwhile, the Chinese Premier said that North Korea wanted to improve ties not only with the United States, but also with South Korea and Japan. In fact, the North has made conciliatory overtures since August. Through China, North Korea has again officially signaled its willingness to mend relations with its neighbors.

It’s hard to figure out North Korea’s true intentions right now. But it seems the nation seeks to negotiate over the nuclear issue solely with the United States, while discussing economic assistance with China, South Korea and Japan. Also, with the U.N. sanctions against the North in force, the isolated regime may try to improve relations with South Korea and Japan in the same way it did with China, as a strategy to change the current frame of concerted activities in the international community. In order to negotiate with the U.S. on nuclear issues, the North appears to have concluded that it would be an advantage to improve ties with the involved countries, anyway.

Wen Jiabao also stressed that the opportunity might disappear if they fail to seize it. That is, China is urging South Korea and the U.S. to actively respond to North Korea’s recent change, while demonstrating its role of mediating relations between the South and the North. In the meantime, President Lee Myung-bak says he welcomes North Korea’s desire to discuss relations with the South and is always open toward dialogue with the North. Of course, it’s hard to regard North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s comments, disclosed in the form of a message through China, as a direct gesture to improve ties with Seoul. But some predict that the indirect exchanges of opinions between the leaders of the two Koreas could help restart the stalled inter-Korean dialogue. Yet, many experts say it’s still unclear whether peace-making comments of the two heads of state will influence future inter-Korean dialogue.

South Korea is willing to take necessary measures to improve relations with Pyongyang, including the provision of aid and the expansion of mutual exchanges, but only after North Korea is firmly determined to give up its nuclear development and visibly changes its stance toward that goal. But Seoul has yet to see any signs indicating North Korea’s denuclearization, which also largely depends on negotiations between North Korea and the U.S. Therefore, South Korea’s position is that it is too early to change its North Korea policy drastically right now, although China expects Seoul to do so. We have to watch how committed North Korea will be toward denuclearization once the North Korea-U.S. negotiations begin, and whether the six-party talks will successfully address the North’s nuclear dismantlement. For now, the result of the North Korea-U.S. talks is very important, not only for the nuclear standoff but also for inter-Korean ties.

In other words, inter-Korean relations are expected to arrive at a breakthrough AFTER the prospective North Korea-U.S. talks produce some positive results, including North Korea’s decision to rejoin the six-party talks. At present, it’s hard to predict how their negotiations may evolve, since North Korea and the U.S. still have serious differences on the dialogue process; North Korea wants to solve everything through bilateral talks with the U.S., while Washington views the negotiations as a preliminary step toward the resumption of the six-party talks. Some are worried about the possibility that Seoul might miss a timely chance to improve ties with Pyongyang, if North Korea-U.S. dialogue proceeds fast. They call for the government to deal with the situation in a more flexible way.

If North Korea clarifies its intention to terminate its nuclear programs during negotiations with the U.S., if the North actually takes specific actions related to that goal, and if all the developments lead to the restart of the six-party talks, South and North Korea can get their relations back on track. And their relationship will form a virtuous circle. But if North Korea insists on its typical tactic of engaging in the U.S. while sidelining South Korea, seeking to break the nuclear deadlock only through bilateral talks with the U.S., not only inter-Korean relations but also North Korea-Japan relations and even those between North Korea and China will face a serious challenge. South Korea, as the key player in the negotiations over the Korean Peninsula issues, must coordinate views with the involved countries, including China and the U.S., in order to play a leading role in persuading North Korea to dismantle its nuclear programs and creating a new order in this part of the world.

At this moment, Seoul needs to take assorted actions to effectively use North Korea’s attitude to ease tension in the region. We hope the recent indirect exchange of opinions between the leaders of South and North Korea will jumpstart the resumption of inter-Korean dialogue.


[Interview] Lecture Helps Local Teachers Better Understand N. Korean Teenage Defectors
In a classroom of the Danggok Middle School located in Boramae-dong in western Seoul, students answer the instructor’s questions seriously. In reality, these students are social studies teachers from junior high schools in the Dongjak District in Seoul. Normally, they teach. But today, they’re attending the lecture as students. The one-day class on North Korean culture is an educational program offered by the “Rainbow Teenagers Center,” a local institute dedicated to helping young North Korean defectors resettle in South Korea. The center organized this special lecture tour for teachers and students in junior high schools. Lecturer Sohn Su-jin tells us the purpose of this program.

Many South Koreans have prejudices against North Korea, since they know little about their communist neighbor. Asked about the image of North Korea, many cite negative images characterized by the nuclear crisis, Kim Jong-il, the color red, or communism. They have a vague idea of North Korea, not exactly aware of the reality of the nation. This program is designed to help South Korean citizens get over such prejudices. I tell these teachers how North Koreans defect to the South and why teenage defectors have a hard time adjusting to their South Korean life. I hope to help them better understand the North Korean students.

About 3,000 North Korean teenagers have resettled in the South, but less than half of them, just 1,140 students, are attending school. And more often students are giving up their studies because they fail to adapt to the new school environment. Ms. Sohn says it’s very important for teachers to show interest in the young defectors.

There are many things to do for these students. For example, it’s urgent to help them boost their learning abilities and provide economic assistance. But I think the most serious problem is that South Korean teachers and students lack an understanding about the teenage defectors. Many newcomers just drop out of school because they find school life too challenging. I think it’s necessary to create many more cultural programs to help them overcome the sense of estrangement.

The lecture provides various programs aimed at enhancing the understanding of North Korean defectors and their culture. At the end of the lecture, for instance, the participants met with some North Korean defectors to listen to the reality of North Korea and share their stories. As teachers, the participants are most interested in how the school system is operated in North Korea and what North Korean students learn. At first, the North Korean defectors were reluctant to stand in front of people, but as time went by, they felt it was increasingly necessary to let the South Korean public know the truth about North Korea. By the same token, the teachers realize that their mission is to help their students recognize North Korea correctly.

…I’m a social studies teacher, and I’ll deliver what I learned today to my students. Many South Korean students aren’t interested in inter-Korean issues or unification. Some even say they don’t want unification. I hope to encourage them to think more about the North Korean people, who are the same as South Koreans, from a humanitarian perspective.

…I’m wondering how I can teach unification issues to my students in a more appropriate way. I’m the one who should ponder on the future of Korea. And I have to come up with better methods to teach my students.

Someday, North Korean students will lead a unified Korea, together with South Koreans. North Korean defectors come to South Korea in search of freedom and to fulfill their dreams. As South Koreans come to accept them as the members of their society, they must nurture young North Koreans with interest and support so the newcomers acclimate to South Korean society in a positive way.