By Choi Sung-jin
A recent series of signals from North Korea seems to indicate that its young leader, who has solidified his grip on domestic affairs through his "politics of horror," may be turning his attention abroad, experts here said.
South and North Korea will have working-level talks next Thursday to prepare for the meeting between their ranking officials. Seoul proposed to hold the preparatory meetings no fewer than three times in September and October but Pyongyang did not respond favorably to any of these proposals.
Some of the experts attributed the North's sudden acceptance of the proposal Friday to its desire to avoid the responsibility for breaching the inter-Korean agreement made in August. "They have no excuses to further delay the meeting between the ranking officials," a North Korea watcher said. There are more positive views, though.
"The North's seemingly sudden turnaround should have something to do with the national convention of the Workers' Party next May," said Park Hyeong-jung, a researcher at the Korea Institute of National Unification. "Kim Jong-un might feel it necessary to create a favorable environment at home and abroad as he is set to formally pronounce the advent of his era, coming out of father's and grandfather's shadows."
North Korea watchers also commented on the discussions between the North and the United Nations concerning Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's visit to the isolationist state. "Pyongyang thinks the key to its diplomacy lies in improving relations with the United States, but it is frustrated with the Obama administration's ‘strategic patience' policy," a diplomatic source said. "The North's invitation to Secretary General Ban reflects its intentions to find a roundabout way to the U.S. through the U.N."
Yet it is not certain whether Pyongyang's reconciliatory gesture will bear the desired fruit. The outcome is especially unsure if Ban presses the North hard on nuclear and human rights issues. Nor are the results of inter-Korean discussions all that promising if past records are any indication, the observers said. They cited the abortive high-level talks in June 2013 because of the disagreement between the two Koreas over the "class" of their chief delegates.
"North Korea, which agreed to the two family reunions this year and last, may hope the South will give it something big in return by, for instance, resuming the tours to Mount Geumgang or lifting the South's five-year-long economic sanctions," said Prof. Nam Sung-wook of Korea University. "The South's working-level officials are not in a position to decide this, so it is a little too hasty to expect optimistic results."
A recent series of signals from North Korea seems to indicate that its young leader, who has solidified his grip on domestic affairs through his "politics of horror," may be turning his attention abroad, experts here said.
South and North Korea will have working-level talks next Thursday to prepare for the meeting between their ranking officials. Seoul proposed to hold the preparatory meetings no fewer than three times in September and October but Pyongyang did not respond favorably to any of these proposals.
Some of the experts attributed the North's sudden acceptance of the proposal Friday to its desire to avoid the responsibility for breaching the inter-Korean agreement made in August. "They have no excuses to further delay the meeting between the ranking officials," a North Korea watcher said. There are more positive views, though.
"The North's seemingly sudden turnaround should have something to do with the national convention of the Workers' Party next May," said Park Hyeong-jung, a researcher at the Korea Institute of National Unification. "Kim Jong-un might feel it necessary to create a favorable environment at home and abroad as he is set to formally pronounce the advent of his era, coming out of father's and grandfather's shadows."
North Korea watchers also commented on the discussions between the North and the United Nations concerning Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's visit to the isolationist state. "Pyongyang thinks the key to its diplomacy lies in improving relations with the United States, but it is frustrated with the Obama administration's ‘strategic patience' policy," a diplomatic source said. "The North's invitation to Secretary General Ban reflects its intentions to find a roundabout way to the U.S. through the U.N."
Yet it is not certain whether Pyongyang's reconciliatory gesture will bear the desired fruit. The outcome is especially unsure if Ban presses the North hard on nuclear and human rights issues. Nor are the results of inter-Korean discussions all that promising if past records are any indication, the observers said. They cited the abortive high-level talks in June 2013 because of the disagreement between the two Koreas over the "class" of their chief delegates.
"North Korea, which agreed to the two family reunions this year and last, may hope the South will give it something big in return by, for instance, resuming the tours to Mount Geumgang or lifting the South's five-year-long economic sanctions," said Prof. Nam Sung-wook of Korea University. "The South's working-level officials are not in a position to decide this, so it is a little too hasty to expect optimistic results."
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