Amid mounting tension on the Korean Peninsula in the wake of North Korea’s disclosure of its uranium enrichment facility and its artillery attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong last month, involved countries are making their own diplomatic efforts to address the present security situation. Chinese State Councilor Dai Bingguo met with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak directly after North Korea’s shelling of Yeonpyeong Island. The councilor also held a meeting with North Korea’s National Defense Commission chairman Kim Jong-il in Pyongyang on December 9. Dai Bingguo has close relations with Kim and is considered one of few political figures who could possibly persuade the North Korean leader. Given China’s previous attitude toward North Korea, experts speculate that the Chinese official asked Chairman Kim to refrain from any action that could increase tensions in the region. Here’s Professor Kim Geun-sik of Kyungnam University to explain.

On the heels of Dai Bingguo’s meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak after the Yeonpyeong incident, China sent the same envoy to Pyongyang. That is, Beijing seeks to hear from both South and North Korea and ease tensions triggered by North Korea’s military provocation. This is how China pursues peace and stability in the region. Obviously, China doesn’t want North Korea’s additional provocation to expand into a full-scale war or to make the ongoing tensions escalate further. Details of the Dai-Kim meeting in Pyongyang have yet to be revealed, but in the overall context, it is highly possible that China dissuaded the North from committing another act of aggression.

Most experts agree that the recent meeting in Pyongyang was not convincing enough for a new breakthrough. Beijing demonstrated some sincerity toward South Korea by notifying Seoul of Dai’s North Korea visit in advance. Judging from the circumstances, however, China doesn’t seem to have played a positive role in resolving the current setback, other than its proposal of resuming the six-party talks. It is also disappointing that Dai Bingguo never mentioned the Yeonpyeong incident during his meeting with the South Korean president on November 28, only repeating China’s request that South and North Korea refrain from fighting with each other. Diplomatic experts are noting the recent report of China’s official Xinhua News Agency, indicating that North Korea and China engaged in a frank dialogue and reached a significant common understanding. Professor Kim continues to explain.

Neither China nor North Korea revealed what they discussed or agreed upon during Dai’s visit to Pyongyang. It’s only assumed that the “significant common understanding” refers to a sort of agreement between the two sides on a peace regime or a peace treaty. The speculation comes from the December 12 report released by the Chosun Shinbo, a pro-North Korea newspaper in Tokyo, which explained in detail North Korea’s demand that the Korean War armistice be replaced by a peace treaty. The newspaper also said Chinese President Hu Jintao would visit the U.S. in January next year. During the Dai-Kim meeting, I imagine the two communist allies coordinated their views about a peace treaty as an important diplomatic issue to turn the situation around and resolve the security crisis in the region in the wake of the Yeonpyeong incident.

Meanwhile, South Korea, the U.S. and Japan reaffirmed their united front against North Korea during a trilateral meeting in Washington on December 7. The three countries seek to divide their respective roles and to persuade China and Russia to join pressure on North Korea. A group of high-ranking U.S. officials, led by Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, is visiting Beijing from December 14 to 17. The U.S. group also includes senior director for Asian Affairs on the National Security Council Jeffrey Bader, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Kurt Campbell and U.S. special envoy for the six-party talks Sung Kim. Prior to the “mammoth” meeting between U.S. and Chinese officials, Japan sent Akitaka Saiki, director general of the Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, to China on December 11 for a meeting between chief nuclear negotiators of the two countries. In the meantime, both South and North Korea are engaged in a fierce diplomatic struggle to win over Russia, which has remained absolutely neutral in the tug-of-war between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan versus China over the Yeonpyeong row. South Korea’s chief nuclear envoy Wi Sung-lac visited Russia on Wednesday, December 15, to meet the nation’s deputy foreign minister. And North Korea is making its own move to gain support from Moscow.

North Korea is trying to avoid international criticism of its provocative action by making the most of the close alliance with China. In the same context, North Korean Foreign Minister Park Ui-chun recently visited Russia, which, in an unusual move, directly denounced Pyongyang for its shelling of Yeonpyeong Island. It seems the North Korean foreign minister made a hasty visit to Russia in order to explain Pyongyang’s position to Russia and persuade Moscow to side with the North. For now, North Korea must pay more attention to China and Russia to enlist support from the international community and strengthen ties with its allies.

North Korea is also turning again to its “invitation diplomacy.” New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson is visiting North Korea at the invitation of Kim Kye-gwan, the nation’s first vice foreign minister. Experts speculate that the North will use the governor’s North Korea visit as a means to create a favorable mood for improving relations with the U.S. In this way, involved countries are carefully calculating their own profits and losses, forming a new diplomatic front. Some predict that the current diplomatic war will eventually lead to dialogue because those countries, though their respective goals may differ, share the view that there should not be an additional clash on the Korean Peninsula. But Professor Kim has a different opinion.

South Korea and the U.S. demand that North Korea first take such measures as issuing an official apology, the punishment of those responsible for its military provocation and a promise of preventing the reoccurrence of a similar case. In sharp contrast, China sides with North Korea. This is a big stumbling block standing in the way of resolving the security row. Amid the ongoing conflict, it won’t be easy to break the current deadlock in the near future. If the involved countries focus too heavily on the resumption of the six-party talks, they may end up repeating the same old dispute. More realistically, I think it’s necessary to seek a new agenda and a new frame of negotiations in order to prevent the situation from aggravating further and deter North Korea from committing an act of aggression again.

It remains to be seen whether the involved countries will be able to find a breakthrough to resolve the current impasse and ease the security crisis on the Korean Peninsula.



[Interview] NGO Dedicated to North Korean Aid, Support for N. Korean Defectors On November 24, people started to gather at KBS Hall to participate in the award ceremony for the second “Korea Human Awards,” organized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. Famous K-pop singers, such as Park Sang-min, Bobby Kim and Maya, complemented the celebration with splendid performances. The Korea Human Awards are given to individuals and groups dedicated to mentoring activities. Among this year’s 18 recipients, one prizewinner caught the attention of the spectators. It was Good People International, a non-governmental organization that has been running a variety of support programs for North Korean defectors over the last ten years. Established in 1999, the group has conducted various humanitarian projects, including relief activities for refugees abroad and child protection work in Korea. The group’s “Civic College,” in particular, received the Prime Minister’s award for its mentoring program aimed at healing the mental scars of North Korean refugees and motivating them to stand on their own two feet. Let’s meet with the group president, Kim Chang-myeong.

We regard the Prime Minister’s award as encouragement to do even better in the future. “Good People” is an international development NGO that was set up by Yeoido Pure Gospel Church in July of 1999. The group has since engaged in support activities for North Korean expatriates here in South Korea and various aid programs for North Korean people across the border. Defectors from North Korea face many difficulties in the capitalistic South Korean society, due to cultural estrangement and deep emotional wounds. We’re assisting the newcomers in their successful resettlement.

The eight-month training program of the “Civic College” is focused on ways to help defectors achieve economic independence, through investment techniques and adjusting to workplaces.

During the training session, the participants visit many workplaces to see how things work there. We also invite professors, who inform the defectors of useful tips on how to survive in South Korean society. We provide financial support to those who completed the training session to help them start their own businesses.

A total of 443 North Korean newcomers have completed the course offered by the Civic College. And more than half of them have been able to get jobs, thanks to the group’s efforts to expand its network with local companies and the Seoul City Small Business Support Center. Some even run their own convenient stores. Kim says he respects each and every trainee and he still vividly remembers a defector couple who carried the spirit of sharing into practice.

Lee Hak-su, one of the trainees who completed the course, and his wife came to me last month and donated one million won, asking me to use the money for neighbors in need. Most North Korean defectors find it challenging to resettle in South Korea, as you may expect. Impressed by the love and support they had received, the couple hoped to give something back. One million won is a big money for them, isn’t it? But they were willing to donate it. I remember that couple the most.

North Korean aid is another major project that the organization has put steadfast work into. The group provided North Korea with corn and fertilizer from the initial period, while supporting North Korean children and assisting the establishment of a bean oil factory in the North.

North Korean aid initiated by Good People International is aimed at helping to ease the chronic food shortages in the impoverished nation. We’ve sent medicines for tuberculosis patients in North Korea, relief goods to flood victims there and underwear in the cold winter season. We’re still working on these aid projects. Governmental-level aid for North Korea has been suspended, but we’ll continue our support activities for North Korean defectors and people in the North. We’ll also expand the mentoring program to benefit many more defectors from North Korea.