With the Korean Thanksgiving holiday of Chuseok approaching, the strained inter-Korean relations are showing signs of entering a new phase of dialogue. In a message sent to the South Korean Red Cross on September 10, North Korea’s Red Cross proposed holding a fresh round of reunions for separated families around Chuseok at Mt. Geumgang in North Korea. For that purpose, the North wanted to make working-level contact as early as possible, and South and North Korea agreed to hold talks in Gaeseong this Friday, September 17. A total of 17 rounds of the inter-Korean joint family reunion program have been held over the last ten years, with only one such event taking place in September last year under the current government. In the past, South Korea would typically make proposals first, followed by the North’s acceptance. But this time, the situation was quite the other way around. Here’s Hong Hyun-ik from the Sejong Institute to explain the backdrop for North Korea’s unusual move.

North Korea is facing severe economic difficulties. Massive floods that hit the nation this summer worsened the situation. I suspect the North is trying to get massive food aid from the South through humanitarian programs, such as the reunions for separated families. Inter-Korean relations have deteriorated and bilateral economic cooperation has shrunken in the wake of the sinking of the South Korean frigate Cheonan. If the current setback is prolonged, it would be hard to revive the North Korean economy. Taking this into account, North Korea seems to be making a conciliatory gesture in an effort to improve relations with Seoul. Outside the nation, the U.S. wants to see an improvement in inter-Korean relations before it engages in dialogue with North Korea. So, Pyongyang’s latest appeasing overtures are considered a message to the U.S. Also, I speculate Chinese President Hu Jintao pressured North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during their recent summit to make a friendly gesture toward Seoul, citing the need for easing tension on the Korean Peninsula before China gives support to North Korea.

The South Korean government decided to accept the proposal by Pyongyang to hold family reunions. And in a counterproposal, Seoul is planning to demand that the reunions be held on a regular basis. It seems South Korea seeks to actively use the rare inter-Korean Red Cross talks to address the humanitarian issue. Also, the government believes one-time reunion events would only reveal limitations in resolving the issue. Senior citizens aged 70 or older account for more than 70 percent of separated family members who are still alive, reflecting the urgency of solving this problem. But most experts agree it won’t be easy for North Korea to actually accept Seoul’s proposal to regularize family reunions.

South Korea’s economy began to surpass North Korea’s in the 1970s. Currently, the South Korean economy is at least 50 times larger than the North Korean one. North Korea, in effect, lost out to the South in competition. It is only natural that the isolated country is extremely wary of the possible spread of a free democracy and a market economy through family reunions, since it could deal a fatal blow to the communist regime. It comes as no surprise that North Korea wants to hold as few reunions as possible. North Korea may agree on another round of reunions, for the lunar New Year’s holiday next year, for example, but it is unlikely that the North will accept the proposal to make the reunions a regular event.

On Monday, September 13, the South Korean Red Cross announced a package of flood aid to be sent to North Korea. The list includes 5,000 tons of rice and 10,000 tons of cement requested by North Korea as well as 3 million cups of instant noodles and medicine. But heavy construction equipment, requested by the North earlier, was not included in the package, since it could be diverted for military purposes. The Red Cross says this is something for the government to decide. The rice aid, in particular, is the first such aid under the current Lee Myung-bak government. Many are wondering how this development may influence future inter-Korean ties. The stalled inter-Korean relations are obviously showing signs of change following the North’s proposal to resume the family reunions, but many experts say it’s too early to conclude that the latest developments will completely turn the situation around.

North Korea actively expressed hope to receive rice, cement and heavy equipment. Some speculated Seoul would provide even more aid, since Pyongyang was asking for help. While accepting the North’s request, however, South Korea will send aid worth 8.5 million dollars, as initially planned. The amount is considered quite small, though, given that the two previous South Korean governments used to send 300-thousand tons of rice and 300-thousand tons of fertilizer to North Korea almost every year. If North Korea gladly accepts the current South Korean government’s aid with gratitude, and if the family reunion program proceeds smoothly, Seoul may consider providing some 100-thousand tons of rice. But it depends on North Korea’s attitude. For now, the government will provide aid as planned and then watch the situation.

Meanwhile, U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Policy Stephen Bosworth expressed optimism that dialogue with North Korea would be possible before long. Bosworth made the remarks while visiting South Korea earlier this week. A lot attention is being drawn to the recent warm breeze blowing in inter-Korean relations, which may influence the six-party nuclear talks. Bosworth also signaled a slight shift from his previous position of objecting to contact between North Korea and the U.S, although he made it clear that North Korea must take action toward denuclearization first. Some interpret Bosworth’s trip to South Korea, Japan and China as Washington’s preliminary step toward the resumption of dialogue. The series of North Korea’s conciliatory gestures are important, of course, but Mr. Hong says a substantial change in North Korea’s attitude is the key to actually resuming the six-party talks.

North Korea’s peacemaking overtures will certainly have positive influence on the efforts to reconvene the six-party talks. But that doesn’t necessarily mean the nuclear negotiations can restart right away. There are some problems that complicate the process of resuming the talks. North Korea insists on the lifting of sanctions as a condition for returning to the six-party talks. The North also demands that negotiations over a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula proceed simultaneously. We have to watch whether or not North Korea will withdraw these requests. South Korea, for its part, maintains that North Korea apologize for the Cheonan disaster and make efforts to prevent a recurrence of similar incidents. Only based on this, will South Korea actively join the six-party talks. It’s important how sincerely North Korea will accept Seoul’s demand. The U.S. government sets a visible change in North Korea’s attitude as a precondition for resuming dialogue. If North Korea takes a turnaround approach on the Cheonan dispute and takes any action to convince involved countries of its commitment to the six-party talks, that will definitely influence the resumption of the multilateral talks.

The frozen inter-Korean relations are apparently beginning to thaw, following North Korea’s active, conciliatory moves and the South’s positive response. We hope the humanitarian exchanges, including the reunions of separated families, will help create the renewed mood of détente on the Korean Peninsula.



[Interview] Defector Committed to Reviving Tradition of Legendary Dancer Two women in their 70s are having a pleasant conversation at a restaurant in Insa-dong, central Seoul, looking at an old black and white photo. The figure in the picture is Choi Seung-hee, a legendary Korean female dancer who earned fame by modernizing Korean classic dance in a polished way at a time when Korea was under Japanese colonial rule. She defected to North Korea in 1946 and established a dance institute named after her. Unfortunately, she fell victim to an ideological purge in 1967 and died at a concentration camp. In memory of the renowned dancer, her Korean disciple Kim Young-sun and her Chinese pupil Oh Wuyang held a special gathering of Choi’s students from Korea and China on August 30. Kim is a North Korean defector who studied under Choi in her home country. The history of their relationship dates back to some 50 years ago.

When I was little, I saw Choi Seung-hee’s charming performances in Beijing. I dreamed of becoming a dancer. I started to study dancing under Choi in November of 1953 when I was admitted to the Pyongyang College of Art and passed her audition. Since then, I appeared in many of her works, including a fan dance, until 1967.

Chinese dancer Oh Wuyang, on the other hand, studied dancing at the Choi Seung-hee Dance Institute in Beijing in 1951. She says that Choi, a great master of various genres of art, such as music, costume design and stage lighting, would dance with Mei Lanfang, one of China’s premier opera performers. Oh also recalls there were as many as 120 Chinese students under Choi. Korean pupil Kim Young-sun shares her memories about her dear teacher.

Choi was an excellent dancer and strict teacher at the same time. When we performed incorrectly, she would showcase the correct movements herself in front of us, asking how we felt about them. She seemed so happy when we replied that her movements were just amazing. The teacher always stressed that a good dancer should articulate the dynamics of dancing properly, express straight lines and curved lines correctly and conform to the rules of breathing strictly. I was always overwhelmed by the fact that such a brilliant dancer really did exist.

Kim stayed with Choi until her teacher was forced to stop dancing during a purge in 1967 just because she let a Buddhist monk appear in her dance show. In such a poor art environment in North Korea, Kim, too, went through a difficult life. As a member of a dance troupe, she had been in the top one percent of the upper class. One day, however, she was dragged to the infamous Yoduk concentration camp, not knowing why, and served ten years there. Only after she was released, did she learn she was taken to the camp simply because she had known about Seong Hye-rim, the ex-wife of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. Realizing that she could no longer live in the hopeless, untrustworthy North Korean society, Kim decided to defect to South Korea.

Political prisoners taken to the Yoduk camp do not know why they are there. In 1989, an official from the security authorities told me that Seong Hye-rim was not Kim Jong-il’s wife and she didn’t have Kim’s son, either. The official threatened that the authorities would not forgive me if I ever breathe a word about the downright lie to other people. Then I realized I was hauled off to the prison camp just because I had been acquainted with Seong. Living as a political prisoner in North Korea is like living in a hell. You can live in a certain society when you have faith and hope in it, can’t you? Having experienced the terrible Yuduk camp, I couldn’t endure the North Korean society any longer. I defected to South Korea in 2001.

The open-minded Kim was able to adjust to her new life in South Korea quickly. She says she’s happy to think and act in her own way and to cherish her dream, which is unthinkable in North Korea. She also made the most of her talent in South Korea to contribute to choreography of the well-known musical “Yoduk Story.” Kim has the modest hope of passing down the beautiful dance techniques of her teacher, Choi Seung-hee, and carrying on the tradition here in South Korea.

South Korean dancers are awesome. They are incomparable to dancers in North Korea. I bet those outstanding dancers will be able to dominate the world stage, if they learn some special techniques of Choi Seung-hee. I hope I will be given a small teaching room. I can teach South Korean dancers all the skills I know so they can advance to the global stage in the name of the legendary dancer.