North Korea and the U.S. have reached an agreement during a third round of high-level dialogue in Beijing, the first such talks in four months. Attention is now being paid to whether the latest dialogue may lead to the resumption of the six-party nuclear talks. North Korea’s delegation headed by First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwa and the U.S. delegation led by Special Representative for North Korea Policy Glyn Davies held two discussion sessions on February 23rd at the North Korean Embassy and the U.S. Embassy in Beijing. A key agenda item was, as expected, the preliminary steps for North Korea’s denuclearization The two sides simultaneously announced the result of the talks on Wednesday, February 29. Professor Kim Geun-sik at Kyungnam University says the recent dialogue carries significance, as it was the first diplomatic step taken by the new Kim Jong-un leadership in North Korea.

Most significantly, it was the first meeting between North Korea and the U.S. since the new Kim Jong-un leadership settled internally in North Korea. It was widely seen as a chance to gauge whether the new North Korea regime will maintain the previous strategies or negotiations involving the U.S., or adopt a new stance. During the recent talks, North Korea stressed that it would inherit the policies of the former Kim Jong-il regime, indicating that the momentum for North Korea-U.S. negotiations are kept afloat. In this sense, the latest dialogue can be viewed positively.

It is rare for North Korea and the U.S. to release simultaneous statements. U.S. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said on Wednesday that North Korea agreed to halt its uranium enrichment program and put a moratorium on nuclear and long-range missile tests. The statement also said North Korea agreed to allow inspectors with the International Atomic Energy Agency to return to North Korea so they can monitor the uranium enrichment activities and verify the disabling of the 5-megawatt reactor in Yongbyon and its related facilities. Confirming the statement at a congressional hearing on Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear that the U.S. would continue to watch North Korea’s move. Similarly, a Foreign Ministry spokesman in North Korea said that the North agreed on the temporary suspension of nuclear and long-range missile tests as well as uranium enrichment activities in Yongbyon in order to maintain the positive mood of the negotiations with the U.S. Pyongyang also confirmed its decision to allow IAEA inspectors to access the nuclear facilities to monitor the uranium enrichment program. In addition, the North said that the U.S. would provide 240-thousand tons of the so-called nutritional assistance and make efforts to give more food aid to the North. The spokesman said the two countries agreed to take reliable measures simultaneously for an improvement in bilateral relations, adding that the U.S. expressed its will to increase personnel exchanges in culture, education and sports. However, neither side mentioned any details about when the IAEA inspectors will return to the North and how to confirm North Korea’s freezing of its nuclear program. So, experts say the two sides will still have to resolve a number of key issues.

The International Atomic Energy Agency, meanwhile, says it is ready to visit North Korea as the country has agreed on the preliminary denuclearization steps. IAEA Director-General Yukiya Amano says that the agency plays an essential role in verifying North Korea’s nuclear program, adding that IAEA inspectors will return to Yongbyon to resume monitoring activities for uranium enrichment facilities there. The U.N. nuclear watchdog has suspended its activities in North Korea since its inspection team was expelled by the North Korean government in April 2009. Now that Pyongyang has agreed on its preliminary measures for denuclearization, the six-party talks are expected to resume after it came to a halt in 2009. But Professor Kim says it remains to be seen exactly when the multilateral talks may restart.

The fresh round of North Korea-U.S. dialogue is considered successful, so a green light has been given for the resumption of the six-party talks. Before that, however, North Korea and the U.S. should implement a tradeoff of preliminary steps toward denuclearization for food aid without problems. In addition, South Korea’s views on stressing inter-Korean dialogue should be taken into consideration to some extent before restarting the six-party talks. It’s true that the recent North Korea-U.S. talks will positively influence the resumption of the multilateral nuclear negotiations. But it still remains to be seen whether the six-party talks may resume at an early date.

The South Korean government has welcomed the latest agreement between North Korea and the U.S. A Foreign Ministry spokesman commented on Thursday, March 1, that it is noteworthy that North Korea has agreed to carry out denuclearization measures, which South Korea and the U.S. had called for as steps to create a favorable condition for the resumption of the six-party talks. The ministry also expressed hope that Pyongyang will faithfully implement the new agreement. So then, how will the new development between North Korea and the U.S. influence the strained relations between South and North Korea?

I don’t think the recent North Korea-U.S. dialogue will influence inter-Korean ties positively. North Korea is expected to maintain the momentum for dialogue with the U.S., but it sticks to the previous hostile stance toward South Korea under the instructions of the late leader Kim Jong-il. In fact, Pyongyang has rejected a series of dialogue proposals made by the Seoul government. The communist nation is even blocking private-level contact with South Korea. Obviously, the North Korea-U.S. talks are boding well for the nuclear issue. But it’s still too early to expect the diplomatic mood will take a dramatic turn to improve inter-Korean relations or resume authority-level dialogue between Seoul and Pyongyang.

Following the recent agreement between North Korea and the U.S., regional diplomacy faces a crucial turning point again. China, the host country of the six-party talks, South Korea, Japan, the U.S. and Russia are expected to hold a series of bilateral talks with involved countries to coordinate their views on the North Korean nuclear issue in earnest. It is hoped that the latest breakthrough in Beijing will help improve the stalled inter-Korean ties and reconvene the six-party talks as early as possible.


[Interview] Defector Students Volunteer to Clean Streets
On an early Monday morning, a group of people gather in front of the Guro District Office in western Seoul to volunteer to clean the streets. They are the members of the “Cleaners for South-North Harmony,” a volunteer group dedicated to street cleaning that was launched last month. The Guro district has various volunteer groups with the same purpose, including a group consisting of the heads of smaller administrative units, a group of students cleaning the streets around schools and a group of foreigners who clean the Garibong-dong area where many foreigners reside. The “Cleaners for South-North Harmony” consists of 30 students who defected from North Korea and now attend the Special School for South and North Harmony. Let’s listen to Song Chang-wook, the chief of the Guro 1-dong township office.

This volunteer group is made up of North Korean defectors. In Guro 1-dong, some 230 local residents have already volunteered to clean the streets, and the 30 North Korean students have joined in the drive. Currently, the students attend an alternative school to adapt to a new school environment here in South Korea as the South Korean educational system is different from that of North Korea.

The group members clean the streets in the district and the pedestrian overpass leading to the Guil subway station from 8:30 a.m. on the first and third Monday of each month. They also clean the snow when it snows heavily. The major purpose of this volunteer program is to help the North Korean expatriates feel a sense of belonging and form bonds with local residents, while sweeping the alleys and cleaning the facilities together with South Korean members.

In reality, the North Korean students find it hard to adjust to their new South Korean life because of different lifestyles and culture. We wondered how to help them acclimate to South Korean society easily. And we came up with an idea of volunteer work. We noted there were volunteer groups for cleaning the streets in the district. We decided to encourage the defector students to join the volunteer activity with the purpose of assisting them in communicating with local residents and better understanding South Korean society.

It’s still cold outside, but the volunteers are eager to clean the streets from early in the morning. With beaming smiles on their faces, they say they find the work all the more enjoyable because they volunteer to do it—a feeling they have never felt before.

In North Korea, residents are required to clean the streets every day. I can see the difference between the compulsory work and the volunteer work. It’s good to keep the streets clean along with the students in my school and senior citizens in the region, enjoying the fresh morning air. It’s also good for exercise.

On top of the cleaning service, the group members also visit the community center for senior citizens in the district on the fourth Wednesday of each month to spend time with and provide muscle massages for the elderly there, and they also share their stories of North Korea. Like so, the group members are seeking happiness through volunteer activities. Their small efforts to put love and sharing into practice are giving new hope to South Korean society.