Talks 'new beginning' for Korean relations

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(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-24 07:45

South Korea's vice unification minister Hong Yang-ho (R) leads Kim Ki Nam (L, front), Secretary of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of North Korea and Kim Yang Gon (C), Department Director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of North Korea, as the North Korean officials leave a Seoul hotel bound for Gimpo airport to go back to Pyongyang, August 23, 2009. [Agencies]

SEOUL: The funeral Sunday of former President Kim Dae-jung, whose efforts to reconcile the divided peninsula won him the Nobel Peace Prize, was marked by the first top-level talks between the rival Koreas in nearly two years.

Kim, who died on Tuesday at 85, was a driving force in the Republic of Korea's (ROK) shift to democracy. He initiated the "Sunshine Policy" to engage the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), leading in 2000 to the first-ever summit of the two Korean leaders.

DPRK leader Kim Jong-il sent a delegation to Seoul on Friday to join in mourning Kim - with a message for the ROK's President Lee Myung-bak.

Lee's 18 months in office have seen a deterioration in relations between the Koreas.

The delegation, headed by a top aide to Kim Jong-il, met Lee in the latest sign that the DPRK is softening its tone after a nuclear test in May and recent missile launches were met with tightened United Nations sanctions and further international isolation.

'Too early' for thaw

The ROK's Yonhap news agency quoted a senior official as saying the meeting was a new beginning but "it's too early to expect a thaw in relations".

Zhang Liangui, an expert on the DPRK at the Central Party School in Beijing, agreed.

"The fact that Lee held talks with the DPRK delegation does not mean his government has shifted its policy on nuclear issues," he said.

This was not a meeting Lee sought, he said, but the DPRK delegation extended its stay in Seoul for a third day and pressed for a meeting with Lee "to try to convey the message of Kim Jong-il".

"Lee did not arrange a special meeting with the DPRK," Zhang said. "He met all delegations to Seoul."

Lee's administration "won't establish a normal relationship with the DPRK until they give up the nuclear programs", he said. "Any economic cooperation must be linked with disabling the nuclear facilities."

The DPRK, meanwhile, has recently tried to ease tensions and overcome the obstacle of UN Security Council Resolution 1874 without abandoning its nuclear program, he said.

The meeting between Lee and the DPRK delegation lasted about 30 minutes. Lee's office would not disclose the content of the message from Kim that was read to Lee.

The DPRK, angry about Lee's policy of ending aid until Pyongyang starts to dismantle its nuclear weapons program, has drastically cut ties with its far wealthier neighbor.

"President Lee said if the two Koreas solve problems through dialogue and in a sincere manner, there is nothing we cannot resolve," presidential spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said.

"The DPRK expressed its gratitude for allowing the meeting and suggested that both sides can cooperate and resolve problems."

The DPRK's KCNA news agency said only that the two had discussed "issues of developing relations between the North and South".

The delegation flew home just before the state funeral. Diplomats said both sides wanted to avoid the spectacle of anti-DPRK demonstrations that might have been provoked by a DPRK presence at the funeral.

Sunday, Lee met with delegates from 11 countries before the funeral.

The Chinese delegation Sunday was led by special envoy Tang Jiaxuan. "Former President Kim was an old friend of China, who contributed much to the development of the China-ROK relations," Tang said.

Noting the smooth development of bilateral relations, thanks to the efforts of both sides, Tang said the leaders of the two countries exchanged visits last year and the two sides established a cooperative partnership, marking a new stage in the development of bilateral ties.

China is ready to work with the ROK to strengthen communication and expand mutually beneficial cooperation, Tang said.

The US delegation was headed by former secretary of state Madeleine Albright, who had met the DPRK's top leader during the Clinton administration.

Lee expressed his gratitude for the high-profile foreign delegates. "Former president Kim was a man who dedicated his whole life to improving inter-Korean ties and bringing forward democratization of the nation," presidential vice-spokesperson Kim Eun-hye said.

Reuters - Xinhua, Peng Kuang contributed to this story.