New offer to N. Korea

Can Kim accept invitation to nuclear summit?

It would be more than welcome for North Korean leader Kim Jong-il to attend an international nuclear summit and pledge to abandon his country’s atomic weapons programs. But Kim stands little chance of doing so no matter what incentives the communist state can get in return for denuclearization.

Against all odds, President Lee Myung-bak has made a proposal to invite Kim to the Nuclear Security Summit to be held in Seoul on March 26 and 27 next year. He revealed the offer at a joint press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin on Monday during his visit to Europe. Of course, the invitation is not without conditions.

For now, it is almost impossible for Seoul to put forward such an invitation without any “ifs.” Lee said he is willing to invite Kim to the summit “if North Korea agrees with the international community that it will be firm and sincere about giving up nuclear programs.” He also made clear that the North should first apologize for sinking the South’s warship Cheonan in March last year and shelling Yeonpyeong Island in November.

His remarks imply that he would not invite Kim unless Pyongyang apologizes for the unprovoked attacks. Thus, Lee’s new proposal could be seen as only reaffirming his stance on how to revive the stalled six-nation talks for the North’s denuclearization. It could also be construed as a move to apply pressure to the recalcitrant state to demonstrate its sincere commitments before restarting the six-party process.

Lee was noncommittal about what steps the North should take to prove its sincerity. But it is not hard to guess what they are. As some policymakers have already demanded, Pyongyang should stop its uranium enrichment program and allow U.N. nuclear inspectors back to the North.

One of the positive elements of Lee’s proposal is his willingness to make a turning point in the deadlocked six-party talks as well as the frayed inter-Korean relations. It is in line with his 2009 “Grand Bargain” initiative, under which the North can receive generous economic aid and security guarantees in exchange for scrapping all its atomic arms programs.

The negative aspect is that Lee has made a virtually unacceptable proposal to the North. Detractors may dismiss Lee’s invitation of Kim as mere rhetoric without any chance of success. The President may deserve criticism again for his hesitation to engage with the world’s last Stalinist country.

However, this does not mean that Pyongyang is free to justify its saber-rattling and nuclear gamble, citing Lee’s hard-line policy toward North Korea. We urge the North to take genuine action to move toward denuclearization, reconciliation and peace on the peninsula, even though Kim is not able to accept Lee’s offer.