Conciliatory Gestures

North Korea Should Take Prudent Action for Rapprochement

The United States has reaffirmed its firm position that bilateral negotiations with North Korea are possible only through the six-party denuclearization talks. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said Thursday that the six-party process remains the best mechanism to resolve pending issues between the two countries. His remarks are aimed at foiling any attempt by Pyongyang to scuttle the multilateral talks by holding direct negotiations with Washington.

It is an appropriate step for the United States to preclude any direct contact with the North before the world's last Stalinist country comes back to the six-nation talks and resume its denuclearization. It is also wise for the United States not to play into the hands of the North that is trying to neutralize new U.N. sanctions imposed on the recalcitrant country for its nuclear test and long-range missile launch in recent months. It is important to maintain coherency and consistency in dealing with precarious and hostile nations like North Korea.

It is a common strategy of North Koreans to break away from talks when they are strong. But when they are weak, they hold out the olive branch not for genuine peace but for a ploy to regain strength. It is apparent that the North has begun to feel pains from arms embargoes and financial sanctions under U.N. resolutions. The United States and its allies have continued to tighten a noose around North Korea in an international effort to force the communist country to abandon its nuclear ambition and move toward reconciliation and peace.

Against this backdrop, the Kim Jong-il regime is sending out conciliatory gestures toward the United States and South Korea. It recently invited former President Bill Clinton and Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jung-eun to the reclusive country. During a meeting with Clinton, Kim expressed his willingness to hold bilateral dialogue with the United States, while freeing two detained American journalists. Kim also reached a five-point agreement with Hyun to resume the Mt. Geumgang tourism project and facilitate the operation of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex. The North also released a detained South Korean worker.

On Wednesday, two North Korean diplomats at the United Nations met New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson to convey the North's intent to have bilateral dialogue with the Obama government. On Friday, the North sent a six-member delegation to the South for the funeral of former President Kim Dae-jung who died Tuesday. The latest developments indicate that Pyongyang is jockeying to mend ties with Washington and Seoul.

However, the Obama administration is giving the cold shoulder to Pyongyang, repeating its call for the North's return to the six-party talks. The Seoul government is also taking a cautious approach toward the North's move. There is hope that the funeral delegation, led by Kim Ki-nam, secretary of the North's ruling Workers' Party Central Committee, may meet with South Korean officials. Such a meeting, if realized, would mark the first contact between senior officials of the two Koreas since the 2008 inauguration of conservative President Lee Myung-bak.

Now, it is time for Seoul and Washington to step up their cooperation to prod the North into the six-party talks by taking advantage of its conciliatory gestures for bilateral dialogue. First of all, the North should shake off its nuclear pariah image and restore international trust by taking prudent action for rapprochement.