[Editorial] North Should Take Message Seriously

President Roh Moo-hyun said in a meeting with reporters that he would not make concessions towards the North without stipulated conditions. It is of course reasonable for the President to have made this remark. However, it has been accepted as an unprecedented statement, demonstrating that there have been drawbacks in the government`s policy towards North Korea.

The President said in an interview with PBS that the North Korean leadership`s increasing fear of the U.S.`s military capability as shown during the U.S.-led war in Iraq is likely to be conducive in finding a peaceful resolution to the North`s nuclear threat. The President`s remarks reaffirmed the two nations` position that they would not tolerate North Korea`s possession of nuclear weapons, and that such a firm position was made during the two leaders` summit talks.

It is relieving that the South Korean government has seemed to signal a shift in its policy towards Pyongyang because the North seems to have taken some initiative in setting up a new inter-Korean dialogue.

The leaders of South Korea and the U.S. reached agreement during their summit that the two nations would continuously work together until the North abandons its nuclear ambitions.

The two leaders showed firm resolve in dismantling the North`s nuclear weapons and materials by issuing a joint statement that in the event of an increased threat from North Korea, “further steps” would be taken.

Another sign of a possible shift in the government`s policy toward the North was shown in a remark made by Ban Ki-moon, a presidential advisor on foreign policy that South Korea could take a flexible approach to the extent or timing of inter-Korean exchanges depending on development of the North Korean nuclear issue.

The North should take the message seriously. Even during the summit between South Korean President Roh and U.S. President George W. Bush, the North attempted to pass on the responsibility for the recent nuclear standoff to the U.S., saying that the inter-Korean declaration which calls for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula is invalid. It is lamentable that the North is downplaying the outcome of the recently held summit talks. The fact might cause considerable trouble to the North that its attempts to drive a wedge between the South and the U.S. has ended in failure.

It is time for North Korea to realize that abandoning its nuclear weapons development program in a verifiable manner is the best and only way for it to survive. South Korea and the U.S. have agreed to make joint efforts to resolve the nuclear issue. Nevertheless, if North Korea continues to press for nuclear power, it will face disastrous consequences, economically and politically.

On the other side of the coin, if the North gives up its nuclear development program, it will receive a great deal of economic aid from the international community. All possible options are on the table. The North needs to seriously ruminate over the message sent by South Korea and the U.S.