Pyongyang Citizens Hope for Easing of Tension
But Worry Over Possible Political Maneuver Ahead of Presidential Election
By Kim Tae-jong
Staff Reporter
Citizens and civic groups produced mixed responses to Wednesday's news that the leaders of the two Koreas will meet later this month.
They welcomed the decision hoping that the talks will ease tension on the peninsula and produce fruitful results that would lead to a peaceful reunification.
But they also worried that the talks will be regarded as a political maneuver by the President Roh Moo-hyun's administration ahead of the presidential election in December.
``We basically welcome the decision,'' said Kim Joing-il, general secretary at the progressive civic group Solidarity for Peace and Reunification of Korea. ``As the talks between Pyongyang and Washington has gone well, it's time for our government to also talk to the North over various urgent issues.''
Most importantly, the agenda should focus on measures at establishing a peaceful reunification between the two Koreas. Furthermore, it should succeed the spirit of the first inter-Korean summit in 2000, he said.
Many citizens express their hope that the talks will go smoothly in dealing with controversial issues.
``The talks should've been held earlier,'' Ji Gun-woong, 25, university student in Seoul, said. ``The most important thing is what they will talk about and how our government leads it.''
The summit can be meaningful as President Roh can establish a bridge for his successor after the presidential election, Ji added.
But conservative civic groups put more emphasis on concerns over the possibility that it can be merely a political maneuver.
``It's wrong to simply welcome the decision. There is a big problem how the government handled the issue,'' Byun Cheol-hwan, spokesman at New Right Union. ``It's so out of blue.''
He believed that there are other urgent issues such as the abduction of Koreans held in Afghanistan. ``If they are not dealt properly first, the inter-Korean talks will be just a strategic plot to hide mistakes.''
Many other citizens simply share the feeling of indifference on the ground that previous summits between the two countries have not produced satisfying results.
``Every time they talked as if they would bring something but always failed to do so. I'm now quite tired of such efforts,'' Kim Ha-yeon, 30, office worker, said. ``It's just too sudden and I smell a rat.''