New hope in Korea

>Archive - PWW Print Edition Archive - 2007 Editions - Sept. 15, 2007


 

Hope seems to be breaking out all over the Korean peninsula. Though there is still much to be worked out, the nuclear issue seems headed towards resolution, and, while the United States and other nations have worked to isolate North Korea in the past, new international contacts are being forged — with some even claiming that the official end of the decades-long Korean War is in sight.

The most recent round of six-party talks aimed at resolving the nuclear issue set up several working groups, one of which was to help ease tensions between the U.S. and socialist North Korea.

U.S.-North Korean talks were held in Geneva on Sept. 1-2 with stunning, though not fully confirmed, results. A spokesperson for the North’s foreign ministry said the two sides discussed measures to “neutralize” all nuclear facilities in the North this year.

On Sept. 11, nine nuclear experts, including several representing the United States, visited North Korea at the invitation of its government. The group planned to visit the Yongbyon nuclear facility and to discuss the logistics for dismantling it by the end of the year.

In accordance with earlier agreements, the North has already sealed the reactor. In July, the International Atomic Energy Agency verified the site had been shut down.

As part of the agreement reached by the six-party talks, North Korea will receive fuel aid and eventually light water nuclear reactors to make up for the energy-production capacity lost in shutting down Yongbyon.

According to the foreign ministry spokesperson, the U.S. agreed in Geneva to take North Korea off its list of countries that “sponsor terrorism,” as well as remove all sanctions that had been applied as part of the Trading With the Enemy Act.

Many observers have pointed out that, while the Bush administration clearly does not want to be negotiating with North Korea directly or to offer concessions — Bush has openly refused to do so throughout most of his tenure — the administration has been left with little choice. The U.S. is diplomatically isolated on this issue, and its military is bogged down in Iraq. The electoral setbacks to the GOP last November may also be a factor.

Meanwhile, an extraordinary summit between the leaders of both parts of Korea is now set for Oct. 2-4. North Korean leader Kim Jong Il will meet with the South’s president, Roh Moo-hyun. The meeting was scheduled to take place earlier, but had to be postponed due to extreme flooding in the North.

According to The Associated Press, Roh has said the summit shouldn’t focus on the nuclear issue, as its resolution is a “fait accompli.” Instead, he said, the two leaders should focus on peace between the two neighboring states and finally ending the decades-old Korean War.

Although an armistice was signed in 1953 between the U.S. and North Korea, the U.S. and South Korea are still technically at war with the North.

Roh suggested that the two sides might issue a declaration on peace after the summit, and that the talks may include formal negotiations towards a peace treaty.

Bush, pushed by Roh at a summit in Australia, has begrudgingly agreed that it may be time to finally sign a treaty with the North, whose official name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

After Bush spoke at a summit press conference, Roh, sitting beside him, said, “I might be wrong — I think I did not hear President Bush mention a declaration to end the Korean War.” Bush then said the war would end after the nuclear issue was resolved.

The cloud hanging over Korea is the upcoming Oct. 14 presidential elections. Roh’s popularity is extremely low — not due to his approach to the North, which is supported by the vast majority of South Koreans, but due to economic issues, such as a proposed “free trade” agreement with the U.S., as well as some scandals.

As a result of the poor ratings, Roh’s Uri Party disbanded, with Uri members joining the newly formed United New Democratic Party. The big danger, progressives and liberals say, is that the extreme-right Grand National Party, which grew out of the old South Korean military dictatorship and is regarded as openly subservient to U.S. interests, may retake power.

dmargolis@pww.org