North Korea is stepping up its offensives against South Korea, which doesn’t bode well for the protracted deadlock in inter-Korean relations. Taking issue with South Korean civic groups’ sending propaganda leaflets into the North, Pyongyang sent a warning message to the Seoul government on April 10. In the message, the chief of the North Korean delegation to the inter-Korean general-level military talks said the South is sending the North a massive amount of anti-North Korea flyers, indecent recordings and even propaganda DVDs denouncing the North Korean ideology and regime. The North’s military added that it would consider suspending overland passage of South Korean personnel into Mt. Geumgang and Gaeseong and threatened to take “decisive measures” unless the South discontinues sending propaganda leaflets across the border. North Korea had routinely criticized South Korean civic groups for sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets, but it is very unusual for the North to mention countermeasures with such strong words. Here’s Jang Yong-seok, research director of the Institute for Peace Affairs, to explain.

Particularly notable is that North Korea mentioned direct countermeasures. North Korea had strongly condemned private South Korean groups for distributing anti-communist leaflets to the North, calling it a malicious scheme aimed at toppling the North Korean regime. The North used to employ ambiguous expressions, like “strong measures” before. But this time, the North Korean Army warns that it will take “decisive measures” at the military level. It points out that even South Korean personnel traveling to and from the inter-Korean management zones on east and west coasts in the name of inter-Korean cooperation are taking part in the despicable psychological smear campaign of sending leaflets. The North is specifically pointing at who is to blame.

Earlier, on April 9, North Korea notified Hyundai Group of its plan to confiscate South Korean assets at Mt. Geumgang on April 13. And the North made good on its words. According to an official speaking on behalf of Hyundai Asan, the South Korean operator of the Mt. Geumgang tourism program, the North went ahead with the freeze of the South Korean government assets on April 13. Some 20 North Korean officials attached stickers bearing the Korean word for “freeze” on the doors of buildings. First, the North froze the family reunion center owned by the South Korean government and then a spa facility, a cultural center and a duty free shop that belong to the Korea Tourism Organization. Also, North Korea asked four ethnic Korean employees managing the family reunion center to leave the country by the following day, April 14. Mr. Jang analyzes Pyongyang’s intention behind its aggressive move.

I suspect that North Korea took this drastic measure in an attempt to pressure Seoul to resume the Mt. Geumgang tour business. In an economic sense, North Korea has every reason to be desperate for the resumption of the cross-border tours involving South Korean tourists. The joint tour program has been suspended since the shooting death of a South Korean female tourist named Park Wang-ja at the Geumgang mountain resort in July 2008. South Korea has demanded a joint investigation of the incident, as well as preventative measures and a guarantee of tourist safety as preconditions for the tour’s resumption. Apart from these three preconditions, the South Korean government is worried about the possibility that cash from the tour program may be funneled into nuclear development in North Korea. To elicit a change from the government’s position, the North is considering various methods, like increasing pressure through private-level exchanges.

Some predict that the latest move is just a beginning of North Korea’s prospective hard-line measures. Experts expect North Korea may turn to the Gaeseong industrial park business as a next step. The North already warned in a statement on April 8 that it would review the operation of the industrial park in Gaeseong, another inter-Korean cooperation program, if South Korea continues to pursue what the North says is a path of confrontation in violation of the spirit of the inter-Korean joint declaration. The North’s latest offensives against Seoul counter expectations that the North would maintain a conciliatory stance toward South Korea in order to receive aid it would need during the spring lean season. Now, most experts say North Korea will likely implement measures related to the Gaeseong project step by step in order to pressure South Korea.

Of course, there are many threatening words North Korea did not actually put into practice. But it’s highly likely that the North will execute measures it has mentioned of late, since it is ratcheting up pressure against South Korea. Concerns are rising that the recent developments will affect the Gaeseong industrial park negatively. Even so, it would be difficult for the South Korean government to resume the Mt. Geumgang tours right now. And there are no specific means to prohibit private groups from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets. The government finds it difficult to order the police to regulate civic activists. Considering this, North Korea will be increasing pressure against Seoul step by step. For example, the North could control South Koreans’ passage to the Gaeseong industrial park by allowing them to enter there only at a designated time or limiting the number of passages.

North Korea began sending conciliatory overtures to Seoul in August last year. So then, why has the North changed its attitude recently, getting tougher on the South? Mr. Jang says North Korea hopes to improve relations with the South in principle, but it seems to have chosen to take a strong stance on South Korea for tactical purposes. Local elections are scheduled for early June in South Korea, and Seoul will host the G20 Summit in the second half of the year. North Korea is beefing up pressure on Seoul in consideration of the South’s political schedule. That is, the North seeks to expand the negative public sentiment toward strained inter-Korean relations and subsequently fuel political pressure in the government. Contrary to earlier expectations, inter-Korean ties will likely come under hard times in the latter half of this year.

The three preconditions South Korea set for the resumption of the Mt. Geumgang tour remain unsettled, while the six-party nuclear talks have made little progress. Under these circumstances, it’s challenging for South Korea to engage in serious dialogue with North Korea and carry out cooperative programs. A surgeon can simply get rid of a tumor. But that’s not the case for North Korean problems. They cannot be cured overnight. Even if they cannot be resolved all at once, it’s necessary to prevent them from aggravating further at least. North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has health problems and a power transfer scheme seems to be brewing inside the North Korean leadership. But South Korea needs to focus more on appropriate dialogue with the North and maintenance of inter-Korean relations than on internal politics of North Korea. If the official dialogue channel is hard to access, the government must activate unofficial channels in a strategic move to deal with North Korea more effectively.

Both South and North Korea remain firm in their respective positions, while regional diplomacy is subject to a number of political factors. Now is time for both sides to show some flexibility and coordinate their differing views in order to prompt a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations.


[Interview] Yeomyeong School Approved as Official Alternative School for N. Korean Defector Students
Yeomyeong School, a learning institute for North Korean teenage defectors, is nestled in Mt. Nam in the heart of Seoul. The name of the school, “Yeomyeong,” means “dawn” or “daybreak” in Korean. At this school, a mock test for the 2010 school qualification exam is being held. The Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education approved Yeomyeong School as an official alternative school for North Korean teenagers on March 24. Thanks to the official approval, the students’ academic careers will also be recognized. They won’t have to take the school qualification exam, and today’s test will be the last one this school offers. Here’s Wu Gi-seop, the school headmaster.

At last, Yeomyeong School has been granted government approval as the first official alternative school for North Korean teenagers. I’ve been looking forward to this day. It feels like I’m standing on the winners’ podium to receive a gold medal. Now that the school has gained accreditation, I hope the school can get some government subsidies and education will be conducted in a more stable way. Of course, I couldn’t have achieved this positive accomplishment alone. Much of the credit should go to teachers and sponsors. I’m simply working on their behalf. I’m so happy and I feel like I’m ascending the stairs of a dream.

Yeomyeong School was set up in September 2004 by a group of teachers who had been teaching an evening class for North Korean defectors, called “Jayuteo,” meaning a “place of freedom.” Local churches and civic groups supported the establishment of the alternative school. Currently, 48 students in their late teens and early 20s are attending this school, and a total of 57 students have graduated from the school. It hadn’t been recognized as an official school until recently, with instruction being conducted in a leased building. Thanks to eased regulations, it became the first alternative school for North Korean defector students to obtain government approval among six such schools in South Korea. Here again is Mr. Wu.

The school starts at 8:40 in the morning. A class lasts for 50 minutes and a ten-minute recess follows before the next class begins. The school is over at 5 p.m. Students have attended the classes diligently and studied hard. Teachers have taught them with textbooks used in regular schools, but with more detailed explanations to help them better understand the books. I think the Office of Education decided to grant approval to this school after it concluded that the school’s textbooks and curriculums were not different from those of regular schools.

In addition to its regular curriculum, the school offers classes on traditional customs, the Korean martial art of taekwondo and dance in order to help the students build their character and adjust to South Korean culture. The school also conducts education in consideration of a post-unification era. In fact, the students had to spend much time in preparing for a school qualification exam before the school obtained government approval. But now, the teachers are glad to teach their students in a more effective and pragmatic way.

The school seeks not only to teach students regular subjects like English, Korean and mathematics but also to help them understand South Korean society well and gain the knowledge and information needed for becoming responsible members of society. But this important element was rather neglected when the students had to prepare for the school qualification exam. Now the school can focus more on its initial purpose, which is very good.

It is students themselves who welcome the move. Even if they go to college or get jobs, they would face difficulties due to the prejudice against the North Korean newcomers who did not attend an official school. As their school has obtained due recognition, they feel they’ve finally become confident members of society, just like their South Korean counterparts. Here’s hoping other alternative schools for defector students will follow suit so many young newcomers will live confidently and take firm root in South Korean society.