South Korean Unification Minister Yu Woo-ik has visited the United States for the first time since he took office in September. The five-day trip, which started on November 2, took the minister to Washington D.C. and New York City. During his visit, Yu met with officials of the U.S. government and Congress, including Deputy Secretary of State Bill Burns and Jim Webb, chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations East Asian and Pacific Affairs Subcommittee, to exchange views on the current state of inter-Korean ties, the diplomatic situation on the Korean Peninsula and the direction of Seoul’s North Korea policy. Diplomatic experts are taking note of the fact that Yu’s recent U.S. trip is rather unusual. Dr. Hong Hyun-ik from the Sejong Institute explains.

The post of the unification minister is found only in South Korea, one half of the divided Korean Peninsula. So, it’s rather hard to distinguish his counterpart in the U.S. and it is unusual for the South Korean Unification Minister to visit the U.S. The rare U.S. visit by South Korea’s point man on North Korea came six years after former Unification Minister Chung Dong-young made a trip to the U.S. in December 2005. Yu and Chung have something in common, one a former and the other a current key aide to the president. Both are influential figures and top policymakers on diplomacy, security and unification. A month and a half after taking office, Unification Minister Yu visited the U.S, which is South Korea’s closest ally, for policy coordination in a broad context.

Experts say Minister Yu’s U.S. visit, which was made shortly after his inauguration, is aimed at explaining the direction of Seoul’s North Korea policy to the U.S. and seeking close discussions and cooperation between the two allies.

South Korea-U.S. relations have played the most important part in Seoul’s foreign policy, especially when it comes to relations with North Korea. In other words, cooperation between Seoul and Washington has played a key role in South Korea’s policy toward Pyongyang. Seoul feels the need to move in sync with the U.S., the nation’s closest ally and the most crucial factor to determine the fate of regional diplomacy. The biggest purpose of the Unification Minister’s U.S. trip is, no doubt, to facilitate cooperation with the U.S. By explaining Seoul’s North Korea policy to Washington, which will certainly play a big role in unifying the two Koreas, South Korea seeks to elicit a U.S. policy supporting Korea’s unification from a future-oriented perspective.

During his U.S. visit, Yu stressed the flexibility of his North Korea policy. In a debate with experts on Korea Peninsula affairs in Washington, Yu said that he was pursuing flexibility in non-political areas in his North Korea policy and that Seoul was making efforts to secure a stable dialogue channel with North Korea. While he attached the conditions that impending issues like the Cheonan incident and the nuclear issue should be given priority, he still placed emphasis on flexibility. Yu also stressed that Seoul could provide full support to North Korea if the North gave up its nuclear arms development and followed a path to change. Judging from his remarks, some speculate that there could be a shift in the Seoul government’s North Korea policy. Here again is Dr. Hong.

I’d say Seoul’s attitude toward North Korea, not its policy, has changed. In a word, the government’s previous hard-line stance has been eased considerably. In the tactical aspect, South Korea was of the adamant position that it would not engage in dialogue with North Korea unless the North changed. But now, South Korea says it will encourage North Korea to change through dialogue. Obviously, there seems to be a shift in the approach toward North Korea. South Korea has decided to resume part of its humanitarian aid to the North in a bid to elicit a change of attitude from Pyongyang. Previously, South Korea set a number of strict preconditions for resolving the North Korean nuclear issue. But Seoul now expresses an intention to provide incentives to North Korea in the course of addressing the nuclear issue with the same purpose—to encourage the North to change its attitude. I think Seoul is mulling different methods toward this purpose.

Meanwhile, Minister Yu said during his U.S. visit that he would actively consider governmental-level aid for North Korea through international organizations, including the U.N. The minister made the remark during his meeting with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in New York on November 6, sharing Ban’s view on the need for providing humanitarian assistance to North Korea. Still, the government will reportedly provide aid to vulnerable groups only, such as infants and children, and exclude rice from the aid list. The plan is interpreted as a move to pave the way for breaking the deadlock in inter-Korean ties by expanding flexibility in dealing with North Korea, while still keeping the basic principle of the so-called May 24 measures intact. The measures refer to a set of punitive sanctions enforced by the government in May last year in response to North Korea’s sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan.

Pointing out the serious food situation in North Korea, the UN Secretary-General said that malnutrition of generations of a family might even cause damage on their DNA, leading to a greater financial burden of unification eventually. In response, the South Korean unification minister said that Seoul would consider resuming governmental-level food aid to the North. It is significant that the government expressed its intention to provide assistance to North Korea, though only indirectly through international organizations. In signaling its position that it is not hostile toward Pyongyang, Seoul is pressuring the North to restart dialogue.

It is likely that the recent positive developments will create a favorable atmosphere. The South Korean government is explicitly demonstrating its will to coexist with North Korea through action. The problem is that Seoul is not showing any flexibility in the most contentious issue. That is, South Korea insists that North Korea apologize for torpedoing the Cheonan corvette, which the North flatly denies, before lifting the May 24 sanctions. But there’s a ray of hope for resolving the issue of the suspended Mt. Geumgang tour program. In 2009, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il mentioned a guarantee of South Korean tourists’ safety during a meeting with Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun in Pyongyang. If North Korean authorities confirm this promise with an official document, the joint tour program may restart. Also, there’s still room for negotiating over North Korea’s seizure of South Korean assets at the mountain resort, since it is among Pyongyang’s additional measures following the suspension of the tour business. The present mood is more favorable for a change in attitude in North Korea than in the past when Seoul was relatively tougher on Pyongyang under its hard-line policy.

The South Korean Unification Minister’s latest visit to the U.S. has served as a steppingstone for Seoul to underline flexibility in its North Korea policy and to resume aid to North Korean through an international organization. Now that South Korea is ready to make a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations, North Korea, too, should demonstrate a more mature attitude to facilitate inter-Korean dialogue based on mutual trust.


[Interview]Unification Ministry Launches Internet Broadcasting Station

Music signaling the start of a news program flows from a small, 6.6-square-meter studio, located on the first floor of the inter-Korean summit headquarters of the Unification Ministry in Samcheong-dong, Seoul. Two hosts, Min Gyeong-na and Lee Young-ah, are delivering the news with lively, cheerful voices. They are the announcers of Internet-based “Unification Broadcasts,” launched by the Unification Ministry on October 1 with the purpose of raising public awareness of the future reunification of Korea. Here’s Min Gyeong-na to introduce the Internet station.

The broadcasting station offers TV and radio programs on the Internet. You can visit our homepage at unitv.unikorea.go.kr. In fact, unification-related issues have been forgotten by the younger generation, and the Ministry of Unification is only one of its kind in the world. The grave issue should not be overlooked. Unification may be a serious topic, but we felt the needed to perceive this issue with greater interest. That’s why this Internet station was launched.

“Unification Broadcasts” include both Internet TV and Internet Radio offering unification-themed programs, including news, so people can access them easily anytime, anywhere. Internet TV mostly broadcasts “Weekly Uni News,” an update of new developments in inter-Korean relations and unification affairs during the past week, and audiovisual material featuring unification-related events, produced by the Unification Ministry. Internet Radio, meanwhile, offers a daily news program and programs for inviting guests and introducing music and listeners’ stories. The most popular program, among others, is a weekly TV situation comedy.

A sitcom entitled “Ukdak Ukdak,” a North Korean expression that is roughly translated into “bustling,” is designed to excite curiosity about a unification-themed sitcom and help the audiences better understand unification issues and North Korean defectors living in South Korea. It consists of various episodes of North Korean newcomers living in the boarding house run by a South Korean family, whose relatives are in North Korea. Each episode has different themes and describes the South Korean family who misses their long-lost kin in the North and the North Korean expatriates who have to adapt to South Korean society.

Unification Broadcasts opened only recently, and there are just six staff members, including two announcers and one producer. So, Min and Lee, the two women announcers, wear many hats from collecting and writing news materials to hosting TV and radio programs. They are very proud of taking on the role of messenger delivering unification-related news, often addressing heavy topics in a more personal manner.

I’m Lee Young-ah, announcer of Internet Broadcasts. I think the two women announcers here are playing the important role of helping viewers and listeners understand the difficult issues more easily. We always feel a sense of duty and responsibility. We’re playing diverse roles enthusiastically in order to win the hearts of many people. You may think of us as “unification messengers.”

The Internet station is attracting special attention from media agencies overseas. Al-Jazeera, the largest broadcaster in the Arab region, has introduced Unification Broadcasts, while the Washington Post and a satellite cable broadcaster in the Los Angeles area are also showing interest in the Korean Internet broadcasting station. While the newly launched station has still a long way to go, it is seeking to develop into a venue for communication with the public, in which people can exchange their opinions about unification and inter-Korean issues. Until the hopeful day of unifying the two Koreas arrives, Unification Broadcasts will continue to provide useful information about North Korea and unification and arouse public interest in these issues.