A South Korean fishing vessel, the Daeseung, which was seized by a North Korean patrol boat while operating in the East Sea last month, returned home on September 7. Seven crew members crossed the Northern Limit Line in the East Sea to enter South Korean waters and arrived at Sokcho Port around 8:19 p.m. on that day, escorted by the Coast Guard’s patrol ship. The sailors held tearful reunions with their family members and said they were sorry to have caused trouble and concern. The squid fishing boat was repatriated a month after it was captured by North Korea in the waters 270 kilometers off the eastern area of Musudan-ri in the North on August 8. Why did North Korea, which had remained silent about Seoul’s repeated calls for releasing the boat, make the abrupt decision to free the fishermen? Professor Yu Ho-yeol from the North Korean Studies Department at Korea University explains there are a number of complex reasons.

We can’t be sure about the details on the backdrop for the sudden decision. But it had been widely expected that North Korea would return the South Korean fishing boat anyway since the North said, after seizing the boat, the ship didn’t seem to have violated the North’s territorial waters on purpose. Also, the North’s Red Cross asked its South Korean counterpart to provide specific items it wanted to receive to recover from recent floods. It seems that the aid request indirectly facilitated the mood for repatriating the detained fishermen. The fishing boat carried three Chinese sailors. Chinese President Hu Jintao or officials in Beijing may have asked North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to release them swiftly during Kim’s recent China visit. In short, North Korea didn’t necessarily want to prolong the detention of the South Korean boat or worsen the situation. Plus, I imagine China played some part in prodding the North into freeing the boat.

Diplomatic experts speculate that North Korea sent the fishermen back home as a conciliatory gesture in response to an offer made by South Korea to provide aid to the North. The government offered North Korea aid worth 8.5 million US dollars on August 26 in the name of the South Korean Red Cross to help the North recover from flood damage. The government also suggested it would positively consider private-level rice aid for North Korea. The North Korean Red Cross replied asking for different items, such as rice, cement and heavy equipment, instead of daily necessities and medicine as proposed by Seoul. Shortly after, North Korea notified Seoul of its decision to repatriate the South Korean fishing boat. Experts expect the latest diplomatic exchanges between South and North Korea will serve as positive momentum to help ease the tension in bilateral ties.

Typically, North Korea had refused to make any specific response to Seoul’s aid offer in the past. But this time around, Pyongyang asked for what it desperately needs by changing the original aid list of 8.5 million dollars, including emergency food and medicine, offered by South Korea. This reflects that the North is in dire need of aid from South Korea, signaling its willingness to accept the aid. Given the serious situation, it would have been better for South Korea to offer what North Korea requests. Whatever the background, it is desirable for both sides to frankly talk about what they really need.

On a negative note, however, some say there’s still a long way to go before North Korea’s peacemaking gesture will actually lead to the resumption of full dialogue, such as the six-party nuclear talks. South Korea’s chief nuclear negotiator Wi Sung-lac calls for North Korea’s responsible attitude as a precondition to resuming dialogue, reiterating the importance of a shift in Pyongyang’s attitude. Wi has recently held consultations with the U.S. about the resumption of the six-party talks, following the North Korea-China summit late last month. Professor Yu says the two Koreas should approach humanitarian issues first at this point in time, through such channels as the inter-Korean Red Cross talks.

Of course, we’re anticipating North Korea’s shift in stance on major political and military issues, such as the Cheonan incident and the six-party talks. But it’s necessary to start from easier problems, namely, humanitarian concerns, when engaging in dialogue, exchanges and aid. Bilateral contact will then spread to other areas, including the suspended authorities-level dialogue. If South Korea manages to restore the Red Cross dialogue channel following the flood relief aid, Seoul could address other major humanitarian issues, including the reunions of separated families.

What matters now is the Seoul government’s attitude. South Korea suspended trade and other exchanges with North Korea on May 24 in retaliation for the North’s alleged torpedo attack on the Cheonan. With the punitive measures still in place, the government is reportedly reviewing the North’s request for flood aid positively. Unification Minister Hyun In-taek said on Wednesday, September 8, that Seoul was positively considering the provision of rice worth a maximum of 8.5 million dollars, although the amount was not decided. Hyun also said the ministry is mulling the provision of cement, as requested by North Korea. It is the first time that the current government has expressed its official position to consider rice aid for North Korea, and many are paying attention to what decision the government will make.

I think the government will positively review North Korea’s request, particularly when it is related to urgent and humanitarian issues, such as flood aid. The government may use this opportunity to create a new atmosphere for dialogue and cooperation. On the political front, South Korea concluded that the Cheonan disaster was caused by North Korea’s provocation based on the results of the multi-national investigation. North Korea’s sincere response and apology, if necessary, and its efforts to prevent a recurrence of such a mishap will be crucial for the fundamental improvement of inter-Korean relations. Seoul should continue working on this part. At the same time, the government should be more committed to the resumption of the six-party talks aimed at ending the nuclear crisis and easing tension in inter-Korean ties.

Amid chilly inter-Korean relations in the wake of the Cheonan incident, South and North Korea managed to take positive steps, although in a limited range of humanitarian aid. Most experts agree that the shift in their respective attitude is highly encouraging. The flood aid offered by South Korea will hopefully help keep the dialogue momentum alive and patch up the torn relationship between the two Koreas.



[Interview] Former N. Korean Doctor Resumes Medical Career in S. Korea Dr. Wu Young-cheol(우영철) is busy treating his patients these days. The former North Korean defector has been working as an intern at the Seoul Medical Center since he passed the national exam for his medical license in January this year. Wu is the first North Korean newcomer to pass the state exam in the South, after one year of preparation, through the medical center’s support program aimed at educating vulnerable people in society as professionals.

It’s just the beginning. I managed to pass the exam somehow, but I’ve just started a medical career here in South Korea. I have to work harder because I have mountains of tasks to fulfill. I served as a surgeon in North Korea for about ten years. When I arrived in South Korea, I was confused with all the complicated thoughts. For two months, I thought hard about my future career. People around me encouraged me to study, and I made up my mind to challenge myself once again and obtain the medical license. That was the only choice I had. So I started studying at the Seoul Medical Center.

The former North Korean surgeon defected to South Korea in 2007, but he never really expected to continue his medical career in the South. He wrote “doctor” in the “preferred job” section when completing the training program at Hanawon, a resettlement center for North Korean defectors, but he didn’t know how to become an official doctor. It was also uncertain whether his North Korean medical license would be recognized. In the meantime, he happened to meet a professor of the Department of Family Medicine at Seoul National University Hospital with the help of a church minister he had met in the course of escaping North Korea. The professor introduced him to the education program offered by the Seoul Medical Center to assist former North Korean medical doctors in resettling in South Korea as official doctors after getting the medical license. Here’s social worker Kim Mi-jeong(김미정) at the Public Medical Team at the Seoul Medical Center.

Many North Korean defectors get treatment at the Seoul Medical Center, a public hospital. When we discovered some of them had worked as doctors in North Korea, we wanted to help them. So we launched a training program last year to encourage North Korean expatriates who had experience in medicine to obtain the medical license here in South Korea. With more North Korean medical staff resettling, newcomers from the North will find it more comfortable to use the medical system here.

Wu nurtured his dream of becoming a “South Korean doctor” while living and studying in a room provided by the Seoul Medical Center. But it wasn’t easy at all for the North Korean defector to adjust to the South Korean medical system. North Korean doctors, for example, mostly use Russian and Japanese, while all medical terms are English in South Korea. The doctor felt like he was learning the elements of medical science from scratch. Also, he felt inclined to give up on his studies too many times because he felt burdened by the living expenses for his family.

Most books I had to study were written in English. That was the most difficult part for me, although professors of Seoul National University helped me a lot. At first, I could read only two pages all day long. I found myself wanting to give up a dozen times a day. I barely managed to pull through, and I’ve come this far today.

After struggling through many difficulties, Wu was finally able to take the first steps as a doctor. He recently visited Hangyeore School, an education facility for North Korean teenage defectors, with the members of a medical volunteer group at the Seoul Medical Center. When he saw many North Korean students lining up in front of him, among other doctors, he had mixed feelings: he felt proud and sad at the same time.

I joined the volunteer group and visited Hangyeore School once or twice. There, I treated students suffering from diseases they had been afflicted with in North Korea. On top of the physical illnesses, however, I think many youngsters have psychological problems caused by the painful experience of escaping their home country and finding new homes here. I never expected to visit a place like this, where there are only North Korean students. While treating them, I found myself getting emotional. I also felt sad to see them staying together there, due to problems associated with family and social relations. Now that I’ve earned the medical license in South Korea, I think I can help my fellow North Korean expats in some way.

Dr. Wu is hoping to become a good doctor who can help North Korean newcomers. We do hope he will realize his wish and that many more former North Korean doctors can follow their dreams through various assistance programs.