Many are wondering whether South and North Korea may ease their strained relations in the wake of a series of bilateral working-level meetings last week. The two sides held a meeting on October 14 to discuss flood prevention on the Imjin River. During the talks, North Korea expressed regrets over a flooding incident that left six South Koreans dead on September 6 and offered condolences to their bereaved families. The tragic accident occurred when the North released water from an upstream dam on the Imjin River without any prior notice. During the inter-Korean talks last week, the North Korean delegation explained that they had no choice but to discharge the water in order to prevent greater damage. The South Korean government accepted the sentiments as an apology and welcomed it as a positive signal for inter-Korean ties. Some point out that the “regrets” here are nothing but a “half-hearted apology.” But according to Dr. Hong Hyung-ik from the Sejong Institute, it was unusual for North Korea to agree on the South’s proposal to hold talks, just one day after Seoul made the offer, and this reflects the North’s active attitude toward dialogue with the South.

North Korea agreed uncharacteristically quickly on Seoul’s offer to hold talks on flood prevention and Red Cross talks on the separated family issue. Of course, there is a slight difference between “regrets” and “apology,” but North Korea apparently used the word “regrets” to reflect on its wrongdoing and officially admit it. So, I think the North’s expression of “regrets” is significant, although it isn’t entirely satisfactory. North Korea seems to be warming up toward Seoul in its own way. Seoul had strongly urged the North to prevent similar incidents from recurring, and the North said they would do so in the future. Although the North didn’t make the highest level of apology, I think last week’s talks helped pave the way for improving inter-Korean ties and preventing the recurrence of flood incidents.

On the heels of the talks, South and North also held a working-level Red Cross meeting at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex on October 16 to discuss the reunions of separated families scattering throughout the Korean Peninsula. Negotiators suspended the discussion session three times on the day, and they eventually failed to reach an agreement at the grueling talks, only promising to discuss the issue again. The North Korean Red Cross officials did recognize the need for more reunions of displaced families, but they refused to agree on specifics. Instead, North Korea asked Seoul to resume humanitarian aid to the North. In response, South Korea said it would consider the request and notify Pyongyang of the result later. Consequently, Seoul’s decision on the resumption of North Korean aid will likely determine next round of talks.

The two previous liberal governments in Seoul under former presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun had shipped around 300-thousand tons of fertilizer to the North each year in exchange for holding reunions of separated families. But the current Lee Myung-bak government thinks it’s hard to resume such a large amount of aid to the North right now. Difficulties in monitoring the transparent distribution of aid in the reclusive country also make the government hesitate to offer the massive aid. From a humanitarian perspective, however, Seoul seems to consider providing less than 50-thousand tons of rice or corn to the North. The small-scale aid wasn’t put on the table at last week’s Red Cross talks. Once the government decides on the exact amount of aid, it will propose a follow-up meeting through the Red Cross channel in the border village of Panmunjeom. So, the timetable for the next round of talks will be set after the South Korean government finalizes the amount of aid.

Meanwhile, an official of the U.S. Defense Department reportedly says North Korean leader Kim Jong-il invited President Lee Myung-bak to Pyongyang for a summit. Whether the remark is true or false is yet to be seen. Ahead of Secretary of Defense Robert Gates’ visit to South Korea, a senior Pentagon official told reporters on October 14 that they suddenly reached a charm phase with North Korea, with Kim Jong-il inviting Lee Myung-bak to visit Pyongyang. As a result, some speculate that the U.S. has virtually confirmed the North’s proposal for an inter-Korean summit, even though the U.S. official never mentioned when and how the invitation was made. When the remark was made public, the South Korean presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae immediately denied it. The White House also said the Defense Department official’s words stemmed from misunderstanding. Still, many experts agree that it’s hard to disregard the remark as a simple slip of the tongue.

It seems that North Korea did not officially invited President Lee Myung-bak. And the South Korean government doesn’t appear to be preparing for an inter-Korean summit, either. At present, North Korea is pursuing bilateral talks with the U.S. or six-party talks to address the nuclear issue. On the other hand, inter-Korean relations have been at odds, and some officials in Seoul criticize Pyongyang for employing the old strategy of embracing the U.S. while excluding South Korea. Also, the Seoul government thinks it’s still necessary to put pressure on North Korea. Under these circumstances, a U.S. official hinted that North Korea is seeking dialogue with the South, in an apparent bid to urge South Korea to be more committed to inter-Korean dialogue.

Yet, diplomatic experts aren’t quite sure whether an inter-Korean summit will actually take place. The South Korean presidential office says Seoul has no reason to agree on a surprise event like a South-North summit, with the nuclear issue still up in the air. North Korea seeks to hold dialogue not only with the U.S. but also with South Korea, but the communist nation shows no signs of changing its attitude when it comes to the nuclear standoff. So, it will likely take a considerable amount of time before developing a mood for an inter-Korean summit. Dr. Hong stresses that in this situation, it’s most important to restore an inter-Korean dialogue channel.

If South Korea fails to restore relations with Pyongyang quickly, it will exercise little power at the soon-to-be-held North Korea-U.S. dialogue and possibly the subsequent three-way talks involving North Korea, U.S. and China. If that happens, South Korea could be excluded from the negotiations over the Korean Peninsula issues, which will determine the fate of all Korean people. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao reportedly promised massive economic aid for North Korea during his latest Pyongyang visit. China is, no doubt, bringing the North Korean economy under its control rapidly. With future unification of Korea in mind, Seoul must deal with relations with Pyongyang from a pragmatic point of view, even though it considers North Korea’s attitude unsatisfactory. South Korea should also devise a new policy aimed at boosting its influence on the nuclear negotiations. To this end, it’s crucial for Seoul to normalize an inter-Korean dialogue channel without delay.

As Dr. Hong explained, it seems very important for the two Koreas to keep the dialogue mood alive through the prompt resumption of bilateral contact. If the two sides miss the current reconciliatory momentum, they might enter a long confrontation period again. Both sides should seek dialogue with a bolder and more sincere attitude.


[Interview] IT Training Program Helps N. Korean Defectors Land Professional Jobs
At a five-story building in Garibong-dong in Guro District, western Seoul, about ten people gather every day to learn about the electronic Computer Aided Design system, or CAD. Lectures on this subject are easily available at private institutes. But in this class, students of various age groups are studying hard in an unusually serious atmosphere. All the students are North Korean defectors. In August, the Job Center for North Korean Defectors at the Korea Peace Institute started the first session of its CAD training program tailored for North Korean newcomers. Here’s job center chief Yu Seung-ran.

The class is conducted from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., from Monday through Friday. In the first stage, students learn the basic theories about electrical and electronic engineering. In the next step, they learn a program called PADS, one of the tools to deal with the Printed Circuit Boards Artwork. We provide the students with the person-to-person counseling service once a week to discover and develop their abilities and aptitudes. The counseling session lasts more than an hour. It’s been about two months since the students participated in the program, and I’ve found the students vary in their abilities. So we now offer individualized instruction tailored for the learning ability of each student. The class is conducted in a casual atmosphere.

To give full consideration of each student’s adaptability, the job center limited the number of students. Only those who already knew how to use computers were supposed to apply for the program, and just ten were selected after interviews and a general information test. Instructors are more focused on whether the students can utilize what they’ve learned than how rapidly they learn in class. So, why did the job center decide to offer this particular training course, among many other job training programs? Here again is Ms. Yu.

While providing job training courses for North Korean defectors, I realized it’s very hard to discover their individual abilities. Many of the young defectors had to stop their studies in the course of escaping North Korea and stayed in third-world countries for a long time. This left a considerable academic vacuum. I felt an urgent need to provide them with technical education. In particular, women defectors have fewer job opportunities than male defectors. I found that Northern defectors receive basic computer skills after they arrive in South Korea. I began to wonder what they could do in computer-related areas, and I thought the CAD system would be helpful for them. That was how I came up with this program.

In the past, most newcomers worked at factories and restaurants as daily laborers. But this training program specializing in information technology helps them find professional jobs. Out of the 49 trainees who have completed the training program, 35 have landed jobs. This program certainly contributes to the resettlement of North Korean newcomers. But Ms. Yu stresses that the defectors still need more interest and understanding.

Most defectors pursue an economic, materialistic success after they arrive in South Korea. But it’s far from easy to fulfill that goal quickly. I’m aware of their difficulties, but I’d like to advise them to step toward their goal little by little, with a bright future in mind. If they become more patient, I bet they will find a good result. I also ask South Korean companies to hire more North Koreans in the belief that they’re making a good investment. The companies also need to wait for the North Korean employees to adjust to a new working environment. It may take time, but they will surely prove to be a competent workforce.