The U.N. Security Council has unanimously adopted a presidential statement condemning the sinking of South Korean corvette Cheonan. The council convened a plenary meeting on July 9 and passed the statement in just nine minutes. The statement had been agreed upon the previous day. The statement expressed deep concern over the civil-military investigation results that concluded North Korea was responsible for the sinking of the Cheonan. It also says the Security Council “condemns” the “attack” which led to the sinking of the navy vessel. However, the statement fails to specifically mention that the attack was executed by North Korea. It does not directly point the finger at North Korea as the one who deserves condemnation, either. For that reason, Professor Kim Geun-sik from Kyungnam University concludes that the statement is a well-organized political compromise between major powers and a half success for Seoul.

Initially, there were concerns that China’s opinions would be different from those of South Korea and the U.S. when it comes to the Cheonan case. Fortunately, a presidential statement was adopted by unanimous consent, though at a low level. The statement does mention that the Cheonan was attacked, and condemns the culprit. It does not directly blame North Korea for the provocation, but the international community clearly condemns the attack on the navy ship and holds the attacker responsible. In this respect, South Korea’s position and efforts were reflected in the statement considerably. But I’d say it’s only a half success, because the statement stops short of identifying exactly who was behind the incident. It even contains North Korea’s argument. So, the statement is considered as the result of a political compromise on conflicting interests between major powers.

South Korea and the U.S. stress that the U.N. Security Council’s condemnation of the Cheonan incident, along with a similar move shown in the summit of advanced countries last month, is a clear warning message toward North Korea. The White House issued a statement indicating the presidential statement is a warning against North Korea, while Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also said the statement supports the investigation results that showed North Korea’s accountability for the sinking. Meanwhile, North Korea voluntarily held a news conference on July 9 at the U.N. Headquarters where it claimed it had achieved a diplomatic victory, even while criticizing the presidential statement. But there was a clear change in North Korea’s attitude this time around. The North had frequently threatened to launch military provocation in the past, but it refrained from such aggressive rhetoric. Instead, Pyongyang stressed the need for the six-party nuclear talks, saying it will make efforts toward the conclusion of a peace treaty and denuclearization through the six-party talks on an equal footing.

North Korea hails the U.N. Security Council’s presidential statement, since it considers the Cheonan case has officially been closed. The North is now urging the international community to discuss the resumption of the six-party talks again. By doing so, Pyongyang seeks to lead the discussions about the multilateral negotiations and pressure the U.S., regardless of the Cheonan incident. China, for its part, believes that tension on the Korean Peninsula, triggered by the Cheonan disaster, has now been eased, and gives more weight to the efforts to restart the six-party talks.

Following the adoption of the presidential statement, a major diplomatic concern on the Korean Peninsula seems to be shifting from the Cheonan row into the stalled six-party talks. The United States, which has remained in synch with South Korea in the course of responding to the Cheonan incident, has yet to announce its official position. But most diplomatic sources agree that the U.S. is, in principle, in favor of the resumption of the six-way talks. If this issue comes to the surface, with the U.N. Security Council having already wrapped up its response to the Cheonan case, the U.S. can no longer maintain a hard-line stance. Attention now swings to whether the South Korean government may change its previous position and what strategies it will employ. Here again is Professor Kim.

Now, it is South Korea that takes the strongest stance toward the North. President Lee Myung-bak insists that North Korea apologize for attacking the Cheonan and demonstrate strong commitment to denuclearization before resuming the six-party talks. It would be hard to reconvene the multilateral talks anytime soon, as long as South Korea continues to take a tough approach toward the North while the U.S. remains ambiguous. Now, the government has to decide on whether it will continue confronting North Korea and maintain tension over the Cheonan dispute or create a mood for dialogue yet again. In other words, it’s necessary for Seoul to come up with a wise exit strategy involving the Cheonan incident. The exit strategy shouldn’t be something for covering the maritime incident. Rather, it should resolve this thorny issue in a reasonable way.

Unexpected factors still remain, though, and we can’t entirely rule out the possibility that the Cheonan dispute may be protracted. Diplomatic experts are noting the South Korean military’s prospective countermeasures against North Korea and the scheduled joint military drill between South Korea and the U.S. After the sinking of the Cheonan warship, South Korea and the U.S. planned on a military drill on the West Sea to counter a possible attack from North Korea. But the move was met with outright opposition from the Chinese government, which argues that any military drill off the coast of China, including the West Sea, is an act of breaching its national security. Accordingly, some speculate the South Korea-U.S. joint naval exercise, even if realized, may be conducted in a way not to provoke China. Any development in this matter could give us some clue about how an exit strategy for the Cheonan incident may evolve. Professor Kim is paying attention to various other factors.

At the diplomatic level, the Security Council’s presidential statement wraps up the international community’s response to the Cheonan case. At the military level, however, the South Korean government has already announced a plan on a joint military drill with the U.S. on the West Sea. As China frowns on the plan, a war of nerves is being developed between China and the U.S. and between China and South Korea. Also, the government declared it would resume radio propaganda broadcasts along the border as part of punitive measures against the North’s attack on the Cheonan. The government also announced a set of strong countermeasures against the North on May 24 through the president’s special address. The government’ adherence to its hard-line approach will heighten military tension in the region and deteriorate inter-Korean conflict. The Cheonan row may evolve in a different way, depending on the government’s attitude.

Now that the U.N. Security Council has adopted a presidential statement, involved countries are busy examining the diplomatic situation in the region, which has entered a new phase. The government’s urgent task is to steer the present situation in a way to achieve stability and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula and to create dialogue momentum aimed at improving inter-Korean ties.



[Interview] Seminar Marks 11th Anniversary of Opening of Hanawon
July 8 this year marked the 11th anniversary of the opening of Hanawon, a resettlement center for North Korean defectors. Some 17,000 newcomers have completed Hanawon’s training program thus far. The number of North Korean escapees entering South Korea keeps increasing, and the government predicts the number of such defectors will reach 20,000 in the second half of this year. But it is far from easy for the newcomers to fully acclimate to South Korean society, with their health conditions cited as the biggest barrier to employment. A seminar on this subject was held on July 2 at the Center for North Korean Defectors in Ineui-dong, central Seoul. Here’s Jeon Jeong-hee, a nurse in charge of medical care at Hanawon.

We organized this medical seminar as part of commemorative events marking the 11th anniversary of the establishment of Hanawon. We held a similar seminar on North Korean defectors last year. It drew positive responses since it dealt with the defectors’ poor health conditions, the most fundamental problem they have to solve before resettling in South Korean society. Medical support for the newcomers shouldn’t end at Hanawon. This year’s seminar stresses the need for raising the public awareness of this matter.

Under the theme of “Health Problems of North Korean Defectors and a Shared Future,” medical experts, including three public health doctors working at Hanawon, spoke on such topics as health conditions of North Korean newcomers and the ongoing medical assistance for them. They pointed out how serious the defectors’ contagious diseases were. In particular, public health doctor Yun Jae-young called attention to the poor sanitary conditions of the North Koreans. He underlined the need for more proactive assistance for North Korean patients, noting that more than 10 percent of North Korean defectors admitted to Hanawon tested positive for B-type hepatitis and more than two percent had received tuberculosis treatment. Also, as more and more women defectors are arriving in South Korea, experts point to serious diseases involving obstetrics and gynecology.

I’m Kwon Min-su, an ob-gyn doctor in charge of women defectors at Hanawon. I found most defectors are so ignorant of women-related diseases. They have rarely, if ever, received relevant education. Some had received treatment in China or Vietnam after they escaped from North Korea. Due to the language barrier, however, they don’t even know what treatment or surgery they underwent there. After arriving in South Korea, they often find their diseases become more serious.

Meanwhile, Professor Lee Su-gyeong from the Department of Food and Nutrition at Inha University took note of the nutritive conditions of the newcomers. Many children from North Korea, who suffered from extreme malnutrition in their home country, are highly prone to be overweight or obese after being suddenly exposed to a new South Korean environment teeming with food. Another major topic was mental health of the defectors, who were under severe trauma and heavy stress in the course of fleeing from North Korea. Let’s listen to public health doctor Jeon Jin-yong.

Many defectors underwent a lot of trauma in the process of escaping their home country, and this causes them to suffer from mental illnesses. Also, many of them suffer from depression due to wide cultural differences between South and North Korea. Depression often develops into physical problems. So, those with physical illnesses should be given psychiatric care as well. Unfortunately, at present, this is not the case for the defector patients. The government has provided various support measures so far, but I hope the support will be executed in a more systematic way.

Experts also stress that the North Korean new settlers should be provided with consistent medical support even after they complete the training program at Hanawon. The number of North Korean defectors is nearing 20-thousand. It is more than just a simple figure. It reminds us that a future of post-unification Korea will depend on how South Koreans will accept their brothers and sisters from the North. More active medical support will help stabilize their economic life, the most basic requirement for resettlement. And this will surely prove to be one small step toward a unified Korea.