Ri Gun, director general of the North American affairs bureau of North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, wrapped up his U.S. visit on Monday. Ri held an unofficial meeting with Sung Kim, chief U.S. representative to six-party nuclear talks, on October 24. The North Korean official also attended the Northeast Asia Cooperative Dialogue in San Diego on October 26 and 27 as well as a seminar on North Korean issues in New York on October 30. During the meeting between Ri and Kim, the first authorities-level talks between North Korea and the U.S. since the inauguration of the Obama administration, the two sides reportedly conveyed their respective positions about North Korea-U.S. dialogue. It seems that the discussion topics also included a possible North Korea visit by Stephen Bosworth, Washington’s special representative for North Korea policy. Professor Kim Geun-sik from Gyeongnam University says it’s highly significant that officials from North Korea and the United States sat down to hear one another’s views on bilateral dialogue.

North Korea and the U.S. have fine-tuned a number of preconditions for bilateral talks through a New York channel. Most recently, Ri Gun visited the U.S. to meet with the chief U.S. negotiator to the six-party talks. It is assumed that the two sides exchanged more frank opinions during the latest informal meeting than they have in the past. In particular, the North Korean official also met with private experts from various areas to hear their opinions in the so-called “Track 1.5” dialogue process in which both private experts and government officials participate. Through this meeting, U.S. officials and experts became aware of North Korea’s goals. In the same token, the North Korean official is believed to have recognized what the U.S. has in mind after a serious dialogue with the Americans.

After a seminar in New York on October 30, Ri Gun said he held a “useful dialogue” with Americans. State Department spokesman Ian Kelly also said on Monday that U.S. nuclear negotiator Sung Kim had held useful discussions with Ri Gun. This is considered the most positive evaluation that the U.S. government has ever made on New York contacts between the North and the U.S. Kelly’s comments also suggest that there was progress in the latest talks. However, some point out the meeting failed to make a breakthrough strong enough to send North Korea back to the six-party talks. While the key agenda of the meeting remained unfulfilled, the mood became much friendlier. The authority-level meeting between North Korea and the U.S. was expected to take place again in New York on October 30, but it never happened. Ri Gun appeared relaxed in the initial period of his U.S. visit, but he left the country without saying anything. This indicates an uncomfortable atmosphere between the two sides. Professor Kim stresses the need to coordinate their differing views.

The two countries still opposed one another on some thorny issues. North Korea opposes the six-party talks, at least on the surface, while the U.S. seeks bilateral dialogue with North Korea within the framework of the six-party talks. The two sides must reach consensus on whether North Korea will return to the six-party talks. Even if the North promises to do so, they also need to agree on some conditions for the new development before beginning their bilateral dialogue. During a meeting with a high official from China, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il left open the possibility that his country may rejoin the multilateral talks. Pyongyang isn’t entirely opposed to the six-party talks, but its position is slightly different from that of Washington, which argues North Korea must return to the six-way talks without fail. The two sides need to adjust their positions on this matter. It will be a watershed moment for bilateral negotiations between the North and the U.S.

In the meantime, North Korea urges the U.S. to engage in dialogue with the North. A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Monday that North Korea magnanimously clarified its position that it is possible to hold multilateral talks, including the six-party talks, depending on talks with the U.S., and now is Washington’s turn to make a decision. The spokesman also warned the North would go its own way if the U.S. was not yet ready to sit down for dialogue. So why is Pyongyang getting impatient after wrapping up an informal talks with the U.S.?

North Korea says it’s time for the U.S. to make a concession because the North has already expressed its will to make a conditional return to the six-party talks. So the North urges the U.S. to clearly signal its will toward bilateral dialogue and take action quickly. Pyongyang insists that the two sides sit down for talks to discuss ways to ease their decades-old hostile relations. North Korea says it doesn’t make any sense if the U.S. unilaterally prods the North to return to the six-party talks without any condition and to dismantle its nuclear programs, not even mentioning the ways to reduce their enmity. With the U.S. still waiting to set the schedule for dialogue with Pyongyang, North Korea seeks to put some pressure on the U.S.

Also, North Korea’s Central News Agency reported on Tuesday that the North had completed reprocessing 8,000 spent fuel rods at the reactivated Yongbyon nuclear facility in late August. The report indicates the North seeks to intensify pressure on the U.S. North Korea and the U.S. have apparently sounded out one another’s intent, and experts speculate the two sides are now engaging in a fierce war of nerves over the final agenda to be put on the table. North Korea urges the U.S. to start dialogue first, not clarifying its will to come back to the six-party talks. On the other hand, Washington pressures the North to promise to return to the multilateral negotiations, while delaying making a final decision on bilateral talks with the North. Professor Kim says both sides need to back off a little to realize bilateral dialogue.

I imagine North Korea-U.S. dialogue will start sooner or later, since the U.S. has already set its official policy, and North Korea, no doubt, is committed to bilateral dialogue. We can be optimistic about their dialogue, but the two sides still need to reach an agreement on some key agendas in order to actually make the rare talks happen. For example, it would be necessary to discuss ways to turn their hostile relations into peaceful ones, as North Korea requests. The U.S. demands that the North restart its nuclear disablement, which it had suspended unilaterally, and stay on course with its denuclearization efforts. Pyongyang must respond to Washington’s call. Both sides need to step back and offer a compromise for bilateral negotiations.

The high-ranking North Korean official’s recent U.S. visit is believed to have made headway on the nuclear issue, since it paved the way for dialogue between the two countries that have long been at odds. Now that they have completed the formal process, namely, a working-level contact, they must resume pragmatic dialogue as early as possible. South Korea, for its part, should also join the efforts toward a peaceful solution to the nuclear crisis.


[Interview] Music Concert for N. Korean Teenage Defectors
On October 24, the auditorium of Myongji University in Seoul erupted with feverish applause for enthusiastic singers. The “Dream Tree Mission,” a support group affiliated with the university, organized the music concert entitled “Dream Trees for North Korean Teenage Defectors and their Challenge.” The concert is part of the program called “YES League for Building Healthy Schools.” This pilot project is jointly managed by Myongji University, Chung-Ang University, Korea National Sport University and the Rainbow Youth Center. Since April this year, the three universities have offered a variety of cultural programs designed to help North Korean defector students better adapt to South Korean society and enhance self-respect. Here’s Professor Kwon Il-nam from the Department of Youth Education and Leadership at Myongji University to explain why they initiated the “YES League” program.

Most teenagers from North Korea have few people to look after them, so they lack self-confidence and have a hard time in adjusting to a new environment as members of South Korean society. With the number of such young defectors ever-increasing, we wondered what we could do for them. We hoped to give them hope and encourage them to pursue their dreams. With the support of Seoul City, we created a number of programs focused on their learning abilities and emotional cultivation as well as various experience programs.

Under the “YES League” program, one South Korean college student forms a mentor relationship with two North Korean teenagers. They get together twice a month. Usually, they engage in exciting sports activities and visit a skating rink or an amusement park—something the North Korean students had never experienced in their home country. Every time they meet, the mentors pick up their pupils. When the meeting ends, the mentors, again, take them home so they can build a closer bond and deepen mutual understanding. It’s been six months since the program started, and the North Korean participants have changed a lot.

Over the last six months, I’ve realized that love and friendship can make people change in a dramatic way. Before, many student defectors couldn’t imagine a life like this because they had few to take care of them. While mingling with their South Korean friends, they began to discuss why they should study and what they should do as South Korean citizens. This isn’t just a simple, private project. If we show more interest and love to the young North Korean defectors—one of the nation’s valuable human resources—I’m sure they will play an important part in this society in the next 10 or 20 years.