Seoul's NK policies raise validity issue

Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul / Korea Times file

By Kang Seung-woo

The Moon Jae-in administration has once again reached out to North Korea for cooperation in healthcare and more joint activities.

However, viability and practicality of the South's policies have been called into question, as the North responded with projectile firings and fresh condemnation of the Moon government.

The Ministry of Unification unveiled its five policy plans for this year, Tuesday, and they included pushing ahead with individual tourism by South Koreans to North Korea and making joint efforts to hold the Summer Olympic Games in Seoul and Pyongyang in 2032.

"It is not feasible, considering the current situation on the Korean Peninsula," said Park Won-gon, a professor of international politics at Handong Global University.

"Little development in the South's drive for inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation is mainly due to the North disregarding and paying no attention to it."

In fact, President Moon proposed the idea of the government allowing citizens to make individual tours to the North, including possible hometown visits by families separated by the Korean War, as part of efforts to expand cross-border exchanges which he hopes will also help improve relations between Pyongyang and Washington.

However, the Kim Jong-un regime has remained unresponsive to the proposal, which may result in the South Korean government losing the confidence of the international community.

In his March 1 speech, President Moon also proposed inter-Korean cooperation in healthcare and quarantine, especially to cope with the COVID-19 epidemic. South Korea is struggling to contain the coronavirus outbreak, and North Korea, although it claims it has no confirmed case, said nearly 7,000 people are under quarantine.

But the proposal has also not received any response from the North. Instead, Pyongyang launched two projectiles the next day, which it described as an artillery exercise.

Making the South's situation worse, Cheong Wa Dae then faced criticism from the North Korean dictator's sister who has risen to power of late.

Regarding Cheong Wa Dae's expression of regret over the projectile firing, Kim Yo-jong, the first vice department director of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party, said the response to its "routine" defense drill was "shocking."

"After all, this means that they have to be prepared militarily, but we should not conduct military exercises," Kim Yo-jong said in a statement. "Who would treat people who make unreasonable arguments like this as a normal counterpart?"

Considering the sister was a symbolic figure for inter-Korean relations, working as Kim Jong-un's special envoy during the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, expectations are that the chill in relations is likely to continue for a while.

Under these circumstances, it is unlikely that the Moon administration's proposals for cooperation will be accepted by the North or gain the South Korean public's support.

"First of all, the coronavirus outbreak needs to abate. In addition, individual tourism is subject to international sanctions imposed on the North, meaning it requires an agreement between South Korea and the United States in advance amid different views on the project," Park said.

"At this point, rather than the government offering projects to the North, the South would do better to explore ways to help the North fight the coronavirus through humanitarian aid, which is more conducive to managing the situation," the professor said.

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