North Korea’s National Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-il has called for an early resumption of the six-party nuclear talks during the recent North Korea-China summit in Beijing. China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency reported on May 26 that Kim expressed his hopes for easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, demonstrated his country’s commitment to the goal of denuclearization and called for the resumption of the six-party nuclear talks at an early date. The news agency also quoted Kim as saying that North Korea has always tried to improve inter-Korean relations with total sincerity and the nation now needs a stable neighboring environment as it is now concentrating on economic development. On the same day, the North’s Korean Central News Agency also reported that Chairman Kim visited China at the invitation of Chinese President Hu Jintao and that the two leaders shared their views on the need for reconvening the six-party talks and keeping the Korean Peninsula nuclear-free. Here’s Inje University Reunification Studies Professor Kim Yeon-cheol to explain the implications of the North Korean leader’s recent comments on the six-party talks.

North Korea seeks to promote economic cooperation with China. To make further progress in this area, North Korea needs to improve the diplomatic environment. Chinese companies will find it difficult to invest in North Korea if the diplomatic tensions continue to linger in the region. In this respect, the resumption of the six-party nuclear talks has emerged as an important factor that could influence economic cooperation between North Korea and China. North Korea declared 2012 as the year of ushering in a powerful and prosperous nation. To achieve the stated goal, it is essential for the North to improve foreign relations. The six-party talks are aimed at ending the North Korean nuclear crisis, but Pyongyang has much to gain from the negotiations now. Prolonged tension on the Korean Peninsula won’t influence the communist regime positively. Kim Jong-il’s remarks reflect his country’s hopes and demand for turning the situation around.

Some predict that North Korea may make stronger efforts to resume the six-party talks and inter-Korean dialogue. The North Korea-China summit last week was attended by Kang Sok-ju, the North’s senior nuclear policy coordinator and Kim Kye-gwan, the chief nuclear envoy to the six-party talks. There is speculation that Beijing and Pyongyang coordinated on the procedures and conditions for the talks behind the scenes. Other experts, on the other hand, say it’s necessary to watch how the two countries act in the future, since the leaders simply exchanged their views on the principle of the resumption of the six-party talks during the summit, not producing any visible agreement.

The six-party nuclear talks have been deadlocked for a long time. The U.S.-China summit earlier this year and the recent meeting of the U.S.-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue did agree on the need for restarting the six-party talks, but there are still numerous measures to be taken to create a favorable environment to do so. The latest North Korea-China summit was an opportunity for both sides to fully discuss this issue. For now, media outlets only report the basic principles of this matter mentioned by the two summits. Exactly what the two countries discussed and how extensively they did will be revealed in the diplomatic efforts they make in the future. If they really reached consensus on the resumption of the six-party talks, China could seek dialogue with the U.S. or make additional diplomatic efforts as the host country of the talks.

Experts are also taking note of Chairman Kim’s remarks reported by the North’s Korean Central News Agency on May 26. According to the news agency, Kim said during the North Korea-China summit that the elimination of stumbling blocks conforms to the overall interests in Northeast Asia. Stumbling blocks here are interpreted as the so-called three-step dialogue process for resuming the six-party talks and South Korea’s demand for Pyongyang’s apology for its military aggressions last year, which North Korea finds hard to accept. In fact, the South Korean government holds fast to its position that North Korea should change its attitude and demonstrate sincerity in regards to the provocations—the Cheonan and Yeonpyong incidents. As Unification Minister Hyun In-taek reaffirmed this view on May 28, a bumpy road is expected until an improvement is made in inter-Korean relations.

As far as North Korea’s military provocations are concerned, South Korea needs to continue to demand that Pyongyang change its attitude. North Korea clearly violated the Armistice Agreement by bombarding Yeonpyeong Island, an act of directly attacking South Korean soil. North Korea was indisputably wrong. It is possible that North Korea may express regret about that. In the case of the sinking of the Cheonan warship, however, the U.N. Security Council has already reflected the positions of both Koreas, with North Korea still denying its involvement. So, it won’t be easy for South Korea to receive an apology for the Cheonan incident from the North.

Meanwhile, the U.S. government has made a short and typical response to Kim Jong-il’s comments on an early resumption of the six-party talks. State Department deputy spokesman Mark Toner said in a regular briefing on May 26 that North Korea must first make efforts needed to improve ties with South Korea and based on the result, it could later discuss other issues. That is, the two Koreas should meet first prior to the six-party talks. Therefore, it will take a considerable amount of time before resuming the six-party talks, unless North Korea takes a turnaround approach on the nuclear issue.

It is most important not to miss the timing for resuming the six-party talks. Diplomatic efforts have constantly been made to reconvene the stalled talks, but involved countries have yet to decide on exactly when to resume the meeting. If they fail to use the diplomatic timing, protracting the deadlock further, the nuclear issue could face even more serious setbacks. So, it is desired to resume negotiations when the opportunity serves. North Korea has already expressed its will to engage in dialogue, and there are a number of tricky problems standing in the way of inter-Korean relations. If it is challenging to resolve the difficult problems at the “entrance” or in the initial stage of dialogue, the government needs to address them at the “exit,” or in the course of proceeding dialogue with North Korea.

Following North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s recent China visit and his remarks about the six-party talks, regional diplomacy faces a murky outlook again. As both Koreas are hoping for peace on their divided peninsula, now is time for them to adopt a forward-looking attitude in order to jumpstart their stalled dialogue and improve bilateral ties.


[Interview] Gathering of Housewives from Both Koreas
On a sunny afternoon, housewives begin to gather in front of a small theater in Daehakro, northern Seoul, saying hello and asking one another how they have been. These women are the members of the “South-North Housewives’ Meeting,” a group consisting of South Korean homemakers and those defecting from North Korea. The group was launched in April by the Organization for One Korea, a local group dedicated to supporting North Korean defectors here, with the purpose of assisting women defectors in their resettlement in South Korea and promoting exchanges between housewives from both sides of the border. Let’s meet with Shin Mi-nyeo, representative of the Organization for One Korea.

In fact, the organization has held gatherings of housewives of South and North Korea occasionally since 2007. The purpose is to promote two-way communication between South and North Korea. People from the two Koreas may think differently even though they see the same situation. We hoped to narrow the differences in ideas and the cultural gap between South and North Korea and to help South Korean citizens and North Korean defectors get to know each other better through dialogue.

North Korean defectors escaped their home country in search of a better life. But even after arriving in South Korea, they still face difficulties since they have to adapt to an unfamiliar environment. Many North Korean housewives want to seek advice about various problems, such as educating their children, housekeeping and family matters, but it isn’t easy for them to make friends in South Korea, which is completely different from the country they lived in. This meeting offers a mentor-mentee program in which North Korean homemakers have a one-on-one relationship with their South Korean counterparts so they can talk about difficulties they face and share their feelings with their South Korean mentors.

Family matters are among the most challenging problems North Korean expatriates face. For example, when the mothers are told to prepare for things their kids will need in school, they just don’t understand what it means. They don’t know how to educate their children, either. Even if they do, private education here is too expensive for them. They have no idea of how to use an education network in their neighborhood. Many housewives also have problems in relations with their husbands. North Korean men are extremely patriarchal. They are quite different from South Korean men. The North Korean wives share their stories and family problems with their South Korean mentors.

The mentors and mentees are supposed to participate in various activities together for the next six months, such as touring cultural sites, joining in volunteer service and visiting each other’s homes. Today, as their third get-together, they watched a comedy show together. The show was designed for both women defectors who suffer emotional scars they obtained in the course of escaping North Korea and South Korean housewives who have a rare opportunity to relieve their stress. The women audiences fully enjoyed the hilarious show. It’s been a while since they laughed so loudly. The North Korean housewives, in particular, seemed very excited at the free, amusing cultural show they had never experienced before. While the women from South and North Korea have lived in different societies and cultures amid the national division of Korea, they became one at this moment at least. Two women share their opinions.

....While mingling with North Korean housewives and learning more about their lives, I realized that North Korea-related issues are not the problems of somebody else, but my own problems. I hope to help newcomers and get along with them just like friends.

....As a North Korean defector, I discovered that South and North Koreans could share the same feelings and they were willing to embrace unification.

It is believed that the meeting of South and North Korean housewives gives hope to women defectors who face difficulties and will contribute to the reunification of Korea, even if only in a small way.