North Korea has proposed holding high-level military talks with South Korea, drawing renewed attention to whether there will be a breakthrough in the stalled inter-Korean dialogue. Under the name of Kim Yong-chun, minister of the People’s Armed Forces, North Korea sent a fax message to South Korean Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin on January 20, proposing high-level military talks to resolve all pending military issues, including the sinking of the South Korean naval ship Cheonan and the shelling of Yeonpyeong Island. The North also suggested that the two sides convene a preliminary meeting for the military talks. Diplomatic experts take note that the proposal came immediately after U.S. President Barack Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao stressed the need for resuming inter-Korean dialogue during their summit last week. Here’s Professor Yu Ho-yeol of the North Korean Studies Department at Korea University to explain.

In a broad context, North Korea’s latest proposal is viewed as a peace offensive. North Korea recognizes the reality that it will be hard to resume the six-party nuclear talks without restoring inter-Korean relations. As preconditions for inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation, South Korea demands that the North acknowledge and apologize for the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong incidents and promise to prevent any recurrence of such mishaps. Pyongyang seems to have concluded that it must address this problem at working-level or high-level military talks. Korean Peninsula issues were among the crucial discussion topics of the U.S.-China summit last week, with the joint statement containing relevant concerns. It appears that China was strongly urged to play a more constructive role in settling peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. China and North Korea apparently had come to a sort of common understanding before the U.S.-China summit, and North Korea proposed military talks with Seoul right after the summit.

The South Korean government has decided to accept Pyongyang’s offer to hold high-level military talks. In a telephone message sent to North Korea on Wednesday morning, South Korea proposed that the two sides hold a working-level meeting at the truce village of Panmunjeom at 10 a.m. on February 11, setting the agenda seeking responsible action from North Korea regarding the Cheonan and Yeonpyong incidents and a promise to prevent the recurrence of such provocations. Also, in a statement issued on Wednesday, the Unification Ministry again urged North Korea to accept a proposal to hold governmental talks to discuss North Korea’s denuclearization. Until recently, the government dismissed a barrage of dialogue overtures from North Korea in recent weeks, saying that they lack in sincerity. Attention now swings to why Seoul made this about-face and accepted Pyongyang’s latest proposal for dialogue.

Pyongyang made the proposal via a message to the South Korean Defense Minister from the North Korean minister of the People’s Armed Forces. Also, the North clarified the agenda for the proposed talks, saying that it will speak about its position on the Cheonan incident and Yeonpyeong Island shelling. Judging from the content of the message and its wording, North Korea doesn’t seem to be feigning a conciliatory gesture, but has expressed its determination to address the controversial issues in detail. In this situation, the Seoul government thinks it should be OK to accept North Korea’s proposal for dialogue. The recent U.S.-China summit reaffirmed the importance of restoring inter-Korean dialogue and improving inter-Korea ties. The development in international diplomacy also prompted South Korea to accept the North’s dialogue proposal.

Against this backdrop, expectations are running high for an improvement in the currently deadlocked inter-Korean relations. However, some predict that a bumpy road lies ahead before the high-level military talks are actually held, as there is a wide difference between the two sides. The key is how significantly the South and North can narrow their differing views on the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong issues during the preliminary talks. North Korea has already expressed regret about the deaths of civilians during its artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island. It could therefore take a positive attitude when approaching this matter. But experts assume that the North will stick to its previous position on the Cheonan incident. Also, even if North Korea accepts Seoul’s proposal to hold a separate meeting to discuss denuclearization, it is highly likely the North will demand that the nuclear issue be discussed at the six-party talks, merely mentioning the principle of denuclearization.

North Korea is expected to repeat its self-justification for its military provocations. It defined the deaths of South Korean soldiers as an unfortunate incident and expressed regret about the civilian victims. The North will take the same stance during the military talks. When the talks are held, however, South Korea will focus more on North Korea’s apology for its military attacks and preventative measures. Seoul is also expected to bring up the issues of North Korea’s nuclear weapons development, including its uranium enrichment program. North Korea, for its part, will almost certainly argue that the nuclear issue and denuclearization should be addressed at the six-party talks or through bilateral negotiations between the United States and the North. South and North Korea are expected to wrangle over these issues.

Meanwhile, involved countries in the six-party nuclear talks welcome the move to resume inter-Korean dialogue. On January 20, the White House hailed South Korea’s decision to agree to North Korea’s proposal for military talks as “an important step forward.” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei also said that Beijing welcomes and supports the two Koreas’ efforts to improve bilateral relations and promote reconciliation and cooperation through dialogue. The involved countries are paying keen attention to the inter-Korean military talks, since the crucial talks may jumpstart the stalled inter-Korean dialogue and, depending on the content and format of the talks, they could directly influence the resumption of the six-party nuclear negotiations. Professor Yu stresses that the two Koreas should come to an important turning point for regional diplomacy.

The high-level military talks, if realized, could create momentum toward addressing pending inter-Korean issues and lead to dialogue in various areas to break the current deadlock. Even if the military talks make little progress, inter-Korean relations will evolve in a more stable way this year as long as the two sides manage to discuss specific, practical issues with sincerity. The Lee Myung-bak government, which is entering the fourth year of its term, could utilize the rare conciliatory gesture from North Korea and improve the security conditions in the region. The government may also make the most of the favorable diplomatic environment, in which China and the U.S. reaffirmed their cooperative partnership, so it can participate in the inter-Korean military talks armed with effective strategies aimed at mending inter-Korean ties and preparing for the six-party nuclear talks as well. South Korea should promote regional peace, advance inter-Korean ties and achieve a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. The nation’s ultimate goal is to resolve all these crucial issues through dialogue.

Inter-Korean confrontation, which has lasted since North Korea’s artillery firing of Yeonpyeong Island, is now shifting toward dialogue following Pyongyang’s proposal for military talks. It is hoped that South and North Korea will take a more flexible attitude in discussing bilateral concerns so they can produce substantial results and seek peace and stability on their divided peninsula.



[Interview] Defector Finds New Life in S. Korea as Professional Counselor More than 20-thousand North Korean defectors have arrived in South Korea. For the new settlers, adjusting to South Korean society proves as challenging as escaping their home country. Many suffer from physical and mental illnesses developed in North Korea or in the course of defection, while others experience deep frustration in the process of getting jobs here. Fortunately, the newcomers can ask for help or share their painful stories with professional counselors solely dedicated to North Korean defectors.

Kim Chun-ok is busy offering counseling services over the phone. She served as a counselor at the Suwon City branch of the Korean National Red Cross before transferring to the Ilsan office of the North Korean Refugees Foundation in January last year. Let’s meet with Ms. Kim.

Four counselors are working here at the counseling center in Ilsan. Our main job is to provide counseling for North Korean defectors on various issues, ranging from employment and health to legal and family problems. When necessary, we connect them with people or organizations they need to consult. Most newcomers know so little about the law. Some do not even know how to use the bus or subway in the initial stage of resettlement. We’re here to help them out.

Ms. Kim is a North Korean newcomer herself. She escaped her economic difficulties in North Korea and defected to South Korea via China in 2003. The difficulties she has experienced over the last eight years are beyond description. She went to a language institute to adapt her North Korean accent, which hindered her employment, and drifted from restaurant to restaurant to make her living. She’s now accustomed to her South Korean life, but she feels frustrated about the long process of trial and error.

I wasted my life away for the first 1-2 years after I came to South Korea. I had absolutely no idea about what I should do. I truly regret those wasteful years, which could have been saved if I had received some help from other North Korean expatriates who had resettled earlier. I felt a sense of duty to inform my fellow North Korean newcomers of a shortcut to resettlement and help them out. That was why I applied for a counseling job.

Being a North Korean defector herself, Ms. Kim says she can understand North Korean expatriates better than anyone else. She also says North Korean counselors can provide the newcomers with practical help that few South Korean counselors can offer. The Northern counselors focus mostly on communication with the newcomers, comforting them while reminding them at the same time that a successful resettlement depends on their firm resolve.

I believe professional counselors for North Korean defectors must understand them well. With warm hearts, the counselors should embrace the unfortunate refugees and help heal their emotional scars. One of the most heartbreaking cases was a person with a third-degree mental disability. She thought she was the unhappiest person in the world. I told her about my story. I lost a three-year-old child but I’ve led my life so energetically. Upon hearing my sad, truthful story, she wondered how I was able to overcome such a severe hardship that was probably even more painful than her suffering. We came to communicate with each other. Thanks to her, I found my work truly rewarding.

Although she feels tired from time to time, Kim’s efforts and dreams do not end here. She is going to study social welfare at Korea Cyber University to cultivate herself as a more proficient counselor.

I’d like to provide professional help to North Korean newcomers, who belong to the vulnerable sector of society, to help them resettle in a quicker and more proper way. In doing so, I believe I can return what I have received. That is why I chose the social welfare department. I’ll be very happy if I can help some socially marginalized South Koreans and North Korean newcomers, though only in a small way. My ultimate goal is to return to my hometown in North Korea after unification and to serve as a counselor or social worker to help North Korean people heal their emotional wounds.