It came in a somewhat dramatic way, yet the agreement between South and North Korea to reopen high-level government talks should be welcomed.
The agreement was made on Saturday between South Korean officials and a high-powered North Korean delegation, which made a surprise visit to Incheon to attend the closing ceremony of the Asian Games.
The delegation, which included Hwang Pyong-so, presumed to be the North’s most powerful man after its leader Kim Jong-un, met South Korean Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae and national security director Kim Kwan-jin. The North Koreans also met Prime Minister Chung Hong-won.
The North Korean officials agreed that the two Koreas would resume high-level talks, which have been suspended since January. The second-round talks are expected in late October or early November.
Seoul officials said North Korea notified the Seoul government of the three-member delegation’s visit to Incheon on Friday. The short notice was seen as a move to boost the dramatic effect of the visit.
It is encouraging that the delegation was the highest-level visit to South Korea in five years, and that it included Kim’s closest aides. This brightens prospects for the upcoming negotiations.
Hwang, a vice marshal in the Korean People’s Army, also serves as the head of the military’s powerful General Political Bureau.
The second man, Choe Ryong-hae, a secretary of the Workers’ Party who also heads the Physical Culture and Sports Guidance Committee, is also a confidant of the North Korean leader.
It is notable that Kim’s top point man on South Korea ― Kim Yang-gon, a party secretary and head of the United Front Department which oversees Pyongyang’s policy on South Korea ― was a member of the delegation. It is clear that the North wanted to send a message to the South that it was serious this time in seeking to improve bilateral relations.
Some experts in the South tie the North’s surprise decision to send the high-profile delegation and resume talks with the South to the rumors about Kim Jong-un’s health.
In fact, Kim Yang-gon told Seoul officials that the North Korean leader did not have health problems. Kim, who had been seen limping, has not appeared in public since Sept. 3.
The North also probably wanted to improve its image, which was tainted recently by the international community’s efforts to highlight its human rights violations. The Pyongyang government is also striving to attract foreign investment.
Whatever the North’s motive may be, both sides should seize the opportunity to improve their relations and resolve the host of pending issues between them. It is hoped that the two sides will be reciprocal in the upcoming negotiations.
We hardly feel the need to repeat that there will not be any real breakthrough in the inter-Korean relations unless the North changes its stances on weapons of mass destruction like nuclear weapons, and ballistic missiles and on human rights violations.
