By Kim Tae-gyu
The Park Geun-hye administration may offer humanitarian aid and push for socio-economic cooperation with North Korea even before the regime there abandons its nuclear ambitions, according to sources Wednesday.
The South is also considering making efforts to resume various inter-Korean projects including tours to Mt. Geumgang and enabling reunions of families separated by the Korean War (1950-53).
In order to secure the return of hundreds of South Korean prisoners of war and civilians believed to have been kidnapped by the North, Seoul is additionally weighing up giving "economic incentives" ― or cash ― to Pyongyang.
In joint reports regarding their five-year plan submitted to President Park on Wednesday, the foreign affairs and unification ministries outlined their two-track approach to bring the isolated country back to the negotiating table.
They will stick to the long-standing principle of not accepting the North's further pursuit of a nuclear weapons program, but will launch humanitarian aid and low-level inter-Korean businesses before Pyongyang abandons its ambitions.
"A virtuous circle between denuclearization and cooperation will contribute to inter-Korean relations thanks to trust developed through the Korea Peninsula Trust Process," Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae told a press conference after the reports.
"If the two countries build up trust through talks, they will be able to address the issue of the North's nuclear weapons. If they cooperate in various ways, it will further contribute to talks aimed at resolving the nuclear issue"
The Korea Peninsula Trust Process is one of President Park's flagship policies, a carrot-and-stick approach geared toward bringing the isolated regime into the international community.
President Park agreed.
"I don't think that trust is made through big projects. It is built when both sides proceed with mutually beneficial small works," she said.
In short, the South will insist that the North abandons its nuclear program, while extending certain humanitarian aid to Pyongyang.
This is in contrast to former President Lee Myung-bak, who made the two issues interdependent, as shown by his pledges that Seoul would enable Pyongyang to increase its yearly per capita income to $3,000 only after it gave up its nuclear weapons program.
"Under Park's stewardship, the link between denuclearization in the North and help from the South will be weaker than under the previous Lee administration," private Sejong Institute researcher Paik Hak-soon said.
"However, this link will still be stronger than that during the Sunshine Policy. In addition, denuclearization would eventually take center stage regarding high-level joint projects between the two Koreas."
Under the Sunshine Policy, former Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun sought to encourage North Korea to soften its stance toward the South by providing economic assistance.
South Korea will also work toward enabling more reunions between separated families, which occurred frequently under the Kim and Roh administrations but happened only twice under Lee Myung-bak's administration.
Trips to Mt. Geumgang, suspended after a South Korean tourist was shot and killed by a North Korean soldier there in 2008, will also be resumed.
Seoul is also thinking of adopting a process known as Freikauf ― a means of moving toward unification using cash ― bringing back prisoners of wars and people abducted to the North, in emulation of the West German government that paid a ransom for more than 30,000 political prisoners taken by East Germany between 1964 and 1989.
However, such programs are not likely to start soon as tensions continue to run high on the Korean Peninsula after the North's third nuclear test on Feb.18 and the resultant U.N. sanctions imposed against Pyongyang.
The Park Geun-hye administration may offer humanitarian aid and push for socio-economic cooperation with North Korea even before the regime there abandons its nuclear ambitions, according to sources Wednesday.
The South is also considering making efforts to resume various inter-Korean projects including tours to Mt. Geumgang and enabling reunions of families separated by the Korean War (1950-53).
In order to secure the return of hundreds of South Korean prisoners of war and civilians believed to have been kidnapped by the North, Seoul is additionally weighing up giving "economic incentives" ― or cash ― to Pyongyang.
In joint reports regarding their five-year plan submitted to President Park on Wednesday, the foreign affairs and unification ministries outlined their two-track approach to bring the isolated country back to the negotiating table.
They will stick to the long-standing principle of not accepting the North's further pursuit of a nuclear weapons program, but will launch humanitarian aid and low-level inter-Korean businesses before Pyongyang abandons its ambitions.
"A virtuous circle between denuclearization and cooperation will contribute to inter-Korean relations thanks to trust developed through the Korea Peninsula Trust Process," Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae told a press conference after the reports.
"If the two countries build up trust through talks, they will be able to address the issue of the North's nuclear weapons. If they cooperate in various ways, it will further contribute to talks aimed at resolving the nuclear issue"
The Korea Peninsula Trust Process is one of President Park's flagship policies, a carrot-and-stick approach geared toward bringing the isolated regime into the international community.
President Park agreed.
"I don't think that trust is made through big projects. It is built when both sides proceed with mutually beneficial small works," she said.
In short, the South will insist that the North abandons its nuclear program, while extending certain humanitarian aid to Pyongyang.
This is in contrast to former President Lee Myung-bak, who made the two issues interdependent, as shown by his pledges that Seoul would enable Pyongyang to increase its yearly per capita income to $3,000 only after it gave up its nuclear weapons program.
"Under Park's stewardship, the link between denuclearization in the North and help from the South will be weaker than under the previous Lee administration," private Sejong Institute researcher Paik Hak-soon said.
"However, this link will still be stronger than that during the Sunshine Policy. In addition, denuclearization would eventually take center stage regarding high-level joint projects between the two Koreas."
Under the Sunshine Policy, former Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun sought to encourage North Korea to soften its stance toward the South by providing economic assistance.
South Korea will also work toward enabling more reunions between separated families, which occurred frequently under the Kim and Roh administrations but happened only twice under Lee Myung-bak's administration.
Trips to Mt. Geumgang, suspended after a South Korean tourist was shot and killed by a North Korean soldier there in 2008, will also be resumed.
Seoul is also thinking of adopting a process known as Freikauf ― a means of moving toward unification using cash ― bringing back prisoners of wars and people abducted to the North, in emulation of the West German government that paid a ransom for more than 30,000 political prisoners taken by East Germany between 1964 and 1989.
However, such programs are not likely to start soon as tensions continue to run high on the Korean Peninsula after the North's third nuclear test on Feb.18 and the resultant U.N. sanctions imposed against Pyongyang.
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