North Korea has virtually rejected South Korean President Lee Myung-bak’s proposal to invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to the second Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Seoul in March next year, with the precondition that the North firmly agrees to denuclearization. Lee made the so-called “Berlin proposal” in a press conference on May 9 after a summit with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, the first leg of Lee’s weeklong European tour. Lee set the precondition that North Korea must apologize for two military provocations against South Korea last year—the sinking of the Cheonan warship and the artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island. Later, in an interview with the French daily Le Monde, Lee said that North Korea’s provocations would no longer be effective and that South Korea would not tolerate such action. He also said he does not rule out the possibility of fresh tension with North Korea. Professor Yu Ho-yeol from the North Korean Studies Department at Korea University explains that the president’s remarks are aimed at demonstrating the South Korean people’s wish for unification to the international community in Berlin, the symbolic city of the reunification of Germany, and also urging North Korea to make a strategic decision.

During his visit to Germany last week, President Lee sent a clear signal to the international community, indicating that South Korea is willing to embrace unification and is prepared for it. In doing so, Lee demonstrated Seoul’s capability to lead the reunification of Korea. But prior to unification, it is important to keep the Korean Peninsula nuclear free. So it is essential to end the North Korean nuclear crisis. Seoul will host the second Nuclear Security Summit on March 26 and 27 next year. If North Korea demonstrates a positive and constructive attitude, Lee says he is willing to invite North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to the international nuclear summit so the communist country will be relieved of its worries about security threats and receive comprehensive economic assistance that the nation badly needs. In brief, Lee presented conditions in which North Korea can make a choice. Lee’s proposal calls for Pyongyang to make a decision.

However, North Korea rejected Lee’s offer, calling it “provocative absurdity.” A spokesman for the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland denounced Lee’s demand for North Korea’s apology for the Cheonan and Yeonpyeong incidents as a sinister scheme to discard dialogue. He also claimed that the demand for North Korea’s denuclearization was part of a ridiculous plot to invade the North. But most experts agree that the “Berlin proposal” is Seoul’s first official overture to invite the North Korean leader and there’s still time ahead of the nuclear summit. For that reason, experts predict that Seoul will have a chance to discuss this issue with North Korea sometime in the future.

Pyongyang had already suggested, though in an indirect way using former U.S. President Jimmy Carter’s North Korea visit, that the two Koreas discuss all issues at an inter-Korean summit without any preconditions. That is why North Korea had such a hostile reaction to the South Korean president’s “Berlin proposal” that presupposes North Korea’s denuclearization. Also, Seoul continues to demand North Korea’s acknowledgement and apology for its military aggressions on South Korea as a precondition for inter-Korean dialogue and unification efforts. This creates strong resistance from the North. But if North Korea is able to see the purpose of the Berlin proposal correctly and understands the potential benefits it will receive in the process of implementing the proposal, there is no reason for Pyongyang to resist or avoid dialogue. Once North Korea decides on its stance, inter-Korean dialogue will resume.

During his stay in Berlin, President Lee met with a group of German officials who played a leading role in Germany’s unification, including Lothar De Maiziere, the last prime minister of East Germany, and listened to their experience of unification. Lee also proposed an advisory council on unification between the two countries. Following Lee’s visit to Germany, experts predict that the South Korean government will spur efforts to prepare for unification. The president proposed the introduction of a new tax to finance unification in a speech commemorating the August 15 Liberation Day last year, saying unification will definitely come someday. As a follow-up measure, the Unification Ministry has since been preparing for a project to lay the groundwork for an inter-Korean joint community. Also, the government is soliciting understanding and support on unification from various sectors, including civil society and educational and academic circles. Professor Yu continues to explain.

Lee has mentioned the unification issue once again, in an apparent move to facilitate discussions about the issue both at the governmental and private level. The governments of South Korea had their own versions of a path to unification. Under President Lee’s three-stage path to gradual unification, the first stage is to create a “peace community,” the second to build an “economic community” and the third to develop a “community of the nation,” which will lead to eventual unification. Discussions and research on potential methods and environment to actually realize this theory are underway. Worries about eventual reunification are widespread in South Korean society. It is necessary to dispel such worries and fears and to enhance public awareness and understanding that unification is essential and possible. As such, the unification issue is being explored in two ways—strategic and specific research of a policy to effectuate a unification theory and the creation of a positive mood for unification.

There are active discussions ongoing about unification funds, among other topics. Some maintain that it’s necessary to raise funds to prepare for unification, since it’s uncertain when and how unification will come about. But some are against the idea, as there are no signs of impending unification at present. Experts say South Korea needs to elaborate when and why unification funds should be raised and devise effective measures to collect such funds through extensive public discussions.

Unification costs may vary, depending on how unification is achieved. But we have to prepare for a minimum cost in advance. South Korea could accumulate funds for a certain period of time in case of emergency. The funds will be from the state budget. So, from an economic point of view, it won’t be efficient to collect more money than is necessary. The government should adjust unification funds properly by taking both necessity and adequacy into consideration. Scholars have different assessments, but I think South Korea can handle a sudden diplomatic change if it secures 5 to 10 trillion won of funds in advance.


[Interview] Defector-Turned-Oriental Medicine Doctor Helps Fellow NK Expatriates
Oriental medicine doctor Seok Young-hwan is applying acupuncture treatment on a patient skillfully. He has been running “The Century Oriental Medicine Clinic” in Jongno, central Seoul, over the last ten years. Actually, he was a North Korean defector who escaped his home country in 1998 and resettled in South Korea. The director of the clinic is pretty busy these days, as he has recently concluded an agreement with Jongno Police Station on free medical checkups and treatment for North Korean newcomers within the jurisdiction of the police station. Seok says, as a former North Korean defector himself, it is his profound mission to provide medical service to his fellow North Korean expatriates.

North Korean defectors can receive medical treatments at any hospital, thanks to the reliable public health policies here. In Oriental medicine, however, all treatments except acupuncture are not covered by insurance. So, defectors have some restrictions in receiving Oriental medical care. I thought I could help them in this area. If the newcomers lose their good health, they will be hopeless. My clinic inked an agreement with Jongno Police Station to provide medical treatments to the defectors free of charge.

A considerable number of North Korean newcomers have visited Seok’s clinic, indicating that the clinic is enjoying popularity with North Korean patients. Patients feel comfortable here as if the clinic were in North Korea. They also feel relieved of their homesickness while talking with the doctor from the North. Here, they can heal their physical illnesses and emotional scars as well.

There are some differences between South and North Korea in the methods of treating diseases. Speaking of North Korean acupuncture, for example, it feels like something stuffed up gets cleared as soon as a patient gets acupuncture. In contrast, South Korean acupuncture is a lot softer. So, some North Korean patients mistakenly believe that they didn’t receive enough treatment or the South Korean treating methods simply do not suit them. While treating the patients, I talk a lot with them about my experience, which they believe is a success story. I encourage them to work hard consistently whatever they do so they can see a good result. In addition to treating patients, I often exchange conversation with them.

Seok graduated from Pyongyang Medical College, the most prestigious medical school in North Korea, and worked as an Oriental medicine doctor for five years there. In 1998, when he served as a military doctor, he crossed the Demilitarized Zone in Gangwon Province into South Korea. The defector became the talk of the town at the time since he was a former researcher at the Kim Il-sung Health Research Institute, which is in charge of health problems of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il and his family.

North Korea boasts highly developed treatments and medicines for diseases related to heart and blood vessels. Just like the late North Korean founder Kim Il-sung, current leader Kim Jong-il and his sister Kim Gyeong-hee are obese and suffer from high blood pressure, overwork and a great deal of stress. As a result, they have arteriosclerosis, hypertension and diabetes. Extensive research has been conducted on these diseases, and Oriental medicine in North Korea is outstanding in those areas.

His clinic has now taken firm root, but it wasn’t that his resettlement was smooth from the beginning. He decided to take a state exam to become a licensed Oriental medicine doctor, but there was too little information and the education methods here were different from those of North Korea. After taking the exam three times, he was finally able to pass. Even after opening the clinic, he had a hard time because the clinic system was different from that of North Korea. As the unique treatment taking advantage of his experience in North Korea proved effective, however, more and more patients began to visit the clinic. He is always trying to approach patients with practical treatment, not with difficult theories.

In this aging society, many people can have a stroke of paralysis, afflicted with cardiac and vascular diseases. I hope to distribute medicines I used to apply in North Korea to such patients here to help them recover quickly and live a healthy life. I also hope to contribute to creating an environment in which many more people will turn to Oriental medicine with trust and developing Oriental medicine both in South and North Korea.

Some say we’re living in a cruel world where you can’t be sick unless you have money. But Dr. Seok opened the door of his clinic wide for neighbors in need, taking the philosophy of “sharing” into practice. He has been able to do so probably because he has approached his patients with heartfelt medical care, not with theories or ideologies.