ed A ray of hope
The Ministry of Unification said Monday that South Korea has been keeping its power supply to the Gaeseong Industrial Complex at a "minimum level’’ after North Korea pulled its workers out of the jointly-run zone on April 9. The ministry also indicated that Seoul won’t cut off the power and water supply to the industrial park for the time being.
We welcome Seoul’s temporary decision on energy supply, given that it could provide a ray of hope amid pessimism that the complex, the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean cooperation, is close to a permanent shutdown.
While South Korean President Park Geun-hye will look for solutions to revive inter-Korean talks and settle peace on the peninsula during her first visit to the United States this week, it’s obvious that the ball is now in North Korea’s court. But the communist regime in Pyongyang has reiterated irrational demands even after the last remaining South Korean workers and officials left the complex Friday.
On Sunday, the North’s National Defense Commission urged Seoul to first abandon hostilities and military provocations against the impoverished country for the resumption of work at the industrial zone. As an example of Seoul’s provocations, the commission cited a joint South Korea-U.S. naval drill to be participated in by an American aircraft carrier later this week. Needless to say, the North’s demand is completely incomprehensible and unfair.
Pyongyang has done a lot to undermine peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia through its string of challenges and threats. While it’s disputable whether the Stalinist regime has accomplished its intended goal through such actions, it’s time for the North to return to normal.
What’s needed is for Pyongyang to accept an olive branch offered by a new administration in the South, and this could start by holding inter-Korean talks on the Gaeseong complex as soon as possible. Both Koreas should know that further delays in talks will lead to a permanent closure of the industrial complex down the road. Already, it’s questionable how many South Korean companies will return to the complex after going through this brouhaha.
Given that the fate of the industrial complex will determine the overall tone of inter-Korean relations in the five years to come, the current dead end could turn into a blessing in disguise, depending on how the two Koreas act decisively. Realistically, they need to ensure the principle that politics must be separated from the economy so that political and military conflicts won’t affect the operation of the joint complex any longer.