Humanitarian cause may help ease tension

It is undesirable for Seoul and Pyongyang to remain in confrontation for a longer period over North Korea’s sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan in March. The question is how to make a breakthrough to the inter-Korean relations that have worsened since President Lee Myung-bak took office in 2008.

But, no one should be too pessimistic since every cloud has a silver lining. Now, this could be the North’s positive response to the South’s proposed aid to the victims of the flood that hit the communist state’s northwestern regions, including Sinuiju.

Pyongyang has refused to accept aid from Seoul since Lee linked assistance to the North’s progress in denuclearization. However, the North requested on Sept. 4 that the South send rice, cement and excavators to the flood-hit country.

The North’s Red Cross made the request four days after the South’s Red Cross offered to send 10 billion won ($8.5 million) in aid to the flood victims. The offer followed the Lee government’s expression of its willingness to allow private relief organizations to send humanitarian aid to the North.

Apparently in a conciliatory gesture on Tuesday, the North released a South Korean fishing boat and its seven crewmembers captured for infringing on the North’s waters off the east coast about a month ago. Of course, there was no deal for the release in return for aid.

The North’s move certainly reflected the sheer fact that the already-impoverished state desperately needs urgent relief aid for its people who were devastated by monsoon downpours last month. Now it is time for Seoul to decide whether to comply with the North’s asking for specific aid items.

The Lee administration is likely to make a positive decision on this matter soon. There is a possibility of approving rice shipments ― but not on a large scale ― to the North via the Red Cross. But the government is reluctant to send cement, excavators and other heavy equipment that might be diverted to military use.

It is important to make sure that possible humanitarian assistance should be provided to those in need. Thus, the North is required to prove that its military should not get its hands on relief items from the South. Flood aid should be offered with no strings attached. But, some expect Pyongyang to take a sincere attitude toward the naval tragedy that claimed the lives of 46 South Korean sailors.

We hope that the Lee administration will make a wise decision on the aid issue which may possibly set the stage for a breakthrough in the severely strained inter-Korean relations. This does not necessarily mean that the South should give a clean bill of health to the North regarding the naval incident in order to mend ties with Pyongyang. It is one of the most challenging points in the exit strategy.