[Editorial] Time to reflect on North Korea policy

In the wake of Deputy U.S. Secretary-designate of State Richard Armitage`s remarks on clarifying more concrete North Korea policy of the George W. Bush administration, the inter-Korean question is raising growing concern at home and abroad.

Although his statement was made at an informal meeting, Armitage underlined the principle of strict reciprocity in dealing with North Korea and stressed that from now on Pyongyang should come up with positive responses. As for the North`s positive reactions, the deputy state secretary-designate reportedly enumerated the retreat of North Korean armed forces deployed along the Military Demarcation Line to the rear area in the North, the reduction of its conventional weapons and clear-cut measures against the weapons of mass destruction.

However, drawing our particular concern is his reference to the Seoul government`s policies on the North. Pointing out that since the Kim Dae-Jung government stakes the fate of his administration on the outcome of the inter-Korean policy, Seoul will have to bear a heavy burden, if and when its North Korean policy fails. And in a sense, North Korean Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-Il has sometimes pushed around the Seoul government, he claimed.

This is to say that Armitage expressed concern with President Kim`s sunshine policy of engagement with the North, as well as his negative view of the Bill Clinton administration`s policies on Pyongyang.

In view of Pyongyang`s attitude taken toward the South and other neighboring countries in the past, there remains room for arousing suspicion and loss of confidence among them. There is little denying that the North has been hell-bent on gaining economic benefits from Seoul, rather than endeavoring for inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation.

Such being the case, the task for providing a peace mechanism on the Korean peninsula has been left behind, and the inter-Korean programs have ended up as demonstrative events. This is why the deputy state secretary-designate demanded that Pyongyang come up with acts of reciprocity and positive responses, while mentioning the Seoul government`s responsibility for the possible failure in its North Korea policy.

For our part, there are considerable complaints among the people about some things, such as the concern that the government is unilaterally giving or has been moved by the North.

There are constant arguments over the transparency in the government`s inter-Korean policies, and Seoul has yet to verify signs of changes in Pyongyang¡¯s stance. Therefore, now is the time to reflect on our own North Korea policies.

Already, Pyongyang has come up with considerable resistance against the Bush administration`s policy direction toward the North. China and Russia are turning suspicious eyes on the new U.S. government. In order to wipe out potential policy discords over inter-Korean relationship, Seoul and Washington are required to undertake mutual policy coordination and strengthen their collaboration as soon as possible.