President Park's level-headedness toward N. Korea

By Abdiel N. Lawrence

Prior to entering the Blue House on Feb. 25, 2013 for the first time since her father’s assassination in October 1979, then president-elect Park Geun-hye promised to seek better relations with North Korea.

This was another way for Madame Park to differentiate herself from former President Lee Myung-bak, who was also a member of South Korea’s conservative establishment but took a much tougher line towards North Korea during his presidency.

President Park’s approach to North Korea tends to be one of “trust-building” or as U.S. President Ronald Reagan once said, “Trust but verify.”

I would like to highlight two of those trust-building measures: family reunions and the ongoing economic cooperation between the two Koreas at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.

One of the most recent examples of these trust-building measures was the family reunions that took place at the Mount Geumgang resort in North Korea on Feb. 20, 2014. Considering that Korea remains the only divided country in a post-Cold War world, these reunions are seen as a way to ameliorate inter-Korean relations from their on-again, off-again stages of hostility towards a more amenable relationship between Seoul and Pyongyang.

The pre-Korean War generation (those 65 and older) is dying off, and for those who were fortunate enough to make it to Mount Geumgang Resort, it just might be the last time they see their loved ones alive.

It is highly unfortunate that North Korea has said that, for now, there will be no further family reunions due to South Korea-U.S. joint military exercises.

Although the regime in Pyongyang has decided to put the issue of family reunions in a state of flux, President Park seems to not have given up and will continue to request that North Korea hold more of these reunions.

Another example of President Park’s approach to North Korea was her handling of the shutdown of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex by the North.

Although South Korean companies involved with Gaeseong lost a total of $930 million during the five-month shutdown, President Park was not shaken by North Korea’s actions for the simple fact that Pyongyang needs Gaeseong much more than Seoul does.

The Gaeseong Industrial Complex is one of North Korea’s few avenues of access to hard currency. Knowing this, President Park was in no rush to urge North Korea to reopen the industrial complex.

In an interview with French magazine Politque Internationale on July 14, 2013, President Park said, “We have repeatedly engaged in the bad practice of rewarding North Korea when it creates a crisis with provocations.

“I intend to break that vicious cycle. Should the complex ultimately end up a failure, North Korea will face a situation where no country in the world would be willing to trust Pyongyang and make investments in the country.”

In conclusion, I have been pleased with President Park’s handling of North Korea simply because I believe her approach to Pyongyang contains a rather ironic balance between that of her three predecessors, Lee Myung-bak, Roh Moo-hyun, and Kim Dae-jung.

While I was a staunch critic of the Sunshine Policy, the spirit of cooperation that emanated from it is still there.

President Park is willing to talk and listen to North Korea when ready. She has the desire to make concessions when it benefits the two Koreas.

However, similar to Lee Myung-bak, President Park is not going to beg and plead with Pyongyang, nor promise more humanitarian aid in order to placate the regime.

When it comes to improving inter-Korean relations, President Park seems well aware of the onerous task before her and will hopefully continue to seek more trust-building measures during her remaining four years in office.

The writer holds a B.A. in political science from Fairleigh Dickinson University and has resided in South Korea for three years. He plans to return to South Korea to pursue a masters in international studies. He can be contacted at lawrenceabdiel@gmail.com.