By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
The government recently learned who the four South Koreans detained by North Korea were, but declined to make the information public.
This validates North Korea's claim that it has the South Koreans in custody, which raises speculation that the cash-strapped secretive state may try to use them as bargaining chips.
A government official made it clear that Seoul would not promise anything to Pyongyang for the release of the South Koreans. They were detained after crossing the border into the northern territory.
His remark serves as a warning that the South will not bend if the North tries to use the detainees as leverage.
North Korea watchers here, however, said the North's assessment of the situation would be quite different.
Prof. Kim Heung-kwang of Kyonggi University told The Korea Times that the recent two cases ― the North holding the South Koreans and its latest threat to scrap inter-Korean tourism pacts ― are not isolated ones.
"I see a link between the two. I think the impoverished North aims to get assistance from the South by threatening to scrap the tourism accords and announcing it is holding the South Koreans," he said.
Kim is a North Korean refugee who settled in Seoul back in 2004 after escaping from the reclusive country.
He pointed to the worsening food situation in North Korea as a major motive prompting the communist state to use the scare tactics.
"They have no income sources now. They cannot sell weapons or weapons materials to other nations as the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative is set in place. The supernotes are not working anymore," he said.
Inter-Korean tourism projects are a cash cow and this is the only means available now for the North to hold off famine, he added.
An official from the U.N.'s World Food Program forecast late last year that more than 8 million North Koreans were starving.
Last month, the North's Korean Central News Agency first reported that Pyongyang was holding the four South Koreans.
During working-level talks Tuesday, North Korean delegates told their South Korean counterparts that the detainees were probed and they would take time to investigate the case.
A few days later, North Korea's Asia-Pacific Committee warned in a statement that the country would scrap all tourism pacts signed with the South, unless the latter resumes tourism to Gaeseong and Mt. Geumgang.
The North said it would allow South Koreans to visit the two tourist destinations from March, pledging that the safety of those visitors would be guaranteed and they would have free access to necessary amenities.
Seoul has not taken the verbal commitment as a safety guarantee, demanding written accords, along with other conditions.
Hyundai Asan, which signed the contracts with the committee, wants the government to allow the resumption of tours to Gaeseong and Mt. Geumgang.
"The North Korean authorities promised the safety of South Korean visitors and said it would allow them access to amenities. We are looking forward to resuming inter-Korean tourism soon after the two sides have negotiations," it said.
hkang@koreatimes.co.kr
