By Jun Ji-hye
There appears to be no consensus on whether to lift the May 24 measures the government slapped on North Korea after its torpedo attack on the Navy's frigate Cheonan in the West Sea five years ago.
Supporters of lifting the sanctions claim that it is time to move on from the tragedy which killed 46 sailors, saying the measures have had no effect on the North.
The biggest advocate of the status quo is the government.
"The government's position has not changed that the North should take responsible actions regarding the Cheonan incident before lifting the measures," the Ministry of Unification said in a statement, Sunday. "Despite maintaining the sanctions, the government will constantly push for exchange and cooperation between the two sides."
The stance coincides with a broader North Korea policy by the current administration that is based on a looser version of reciprocity, bequeathed from the previous Lee Myung-bak government.
Ahn Chan-il, the head of the World North Korea Research Center, backed the government's position.
"The strained inter-Korean relations are due to the North's assertion that it was not responsible for the Cheonan incident," he told reporters. "The North needs to first resolve the problems that it created by simply admitting its fault. Then, the sanctions will be terminated."
However, some experts have called for immediate action.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said it is time to review the effectiveness of the sanctions, which banned all trading and commercial activities between the two sides except at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.
"The punitive measures have failed to change the North as evidenced by its launch of a long-range rocket in 2012 and a third nuclear test in 2013, which raised tensions on the Korean Peninsula," he said.
"The sanctions instead resulted in more reliance by the North on China while weakening its ties with South Korea, proving the sanctions did not work at all."
He called on the Park Geun-hye government to adopt a strategic approach when dealing with the issue and lift the sanctions gradually.
"At first, the government needs to ease sanctions on the exchange of material resources and personnel between the two sides regardless of a change in Pyongyang's attitude," he said. "Then, if high-level inter-Korean talks are held once or twice, the government may need to make new investment into the Gaeseong complex to maintain dialogue.
"Finally, the government may consult with the North on ways of preventing a recurrence of the Cheonan incident. If inter-Korean relations make progress at this stage, the government might need to allow the North's merchant ships to go through the Jeju Strait," he said.
Cheong Seong-chang, head of unification strategy research at the Sejong Institute, echoed Yang's view.
Cheong said it is useless to stick to the sanctions and expect the North to say sorry for the Cheonan sinking.
"If the North admits its misdeeds and makes an apology, criticism in the South against Pyongyang will increase considerably, making it more difficult to improve South-North relations," he said.
He noted that the inter-Korean trade volume has steadily increased despite the sanctions as total turnover in Gaeseong complex increased. In addition, trade between Pyongyang and Beijing went up sharply in the wake of the sanctions.
Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye
There appears to be no consensus on whether to lift the May 24 measures the government slapped on North Korea after its torpedo attack on the Navy's frigate Cheonan in the West Sea five years ago.
Supporters of lifting the sanctions claim that it is time to move on from the tragedy which killed 46 sailors, saying the measures have had no effect on the North.
The biggest advocate of the status quo is the government.
"The government's position has not changed that the North should take responsible actions regarding the Cheonan incident before lifting the measures," the Ministry of Unification said in a statement, Sunday. "Despite maintaining the sanctions, the government will constantly push for exchange and cooperation between the two sides."
The stance coincides with a broader North Korea policy by the current administration that is based on a looser version of reciprocity, bequeathed from the previous Lee Myung-bak government.
Ahn Chan-il, the head of the World North Korea Research Center, backed the government's position.
"The strained inter-Korean relations are due to the North's assertion that it was not responsible for the Cheonan incident," he told reporters. "The North needs to first resolve the problems that it created by simply admitting its fault. Then, the sanctions will be terminated."
However, some experts have called for immediate action.
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said it is time to review the effectiveness of the sanctions, which banned all trading and commercial activities between the two sides except at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.
"The punitive measures have failed to change the North as evidenced by its launch of a long-range rocket in 2012 and a third nuclear test in 2013, which raised tensions on the Korean Peninsula," he said.
"The sanctions instead resulted in more reliance by the North on China while weakening its ties with South Korea, proving the sanctions did not work at all."
He called on the Park Geun-hye government to adopt a strategic approach when dealing with the issue and lift the sanctions gradually.
"At first, the government needs to ease sanctions on the exchange of material resources and personnel between the two sides regardless of a change in Pyongyang's attitude," he said. "Then, if high-level inter-Korean talks are held once or twice, the government may need to make new investment into the Gaeseong complex to maintain dialogue.
"Finally, the government may consult with the North on ways of preventing a recurrence of the Cheonan incident. If inter-Korean relations make progress at this stage, the government might need to allow the North's merchant ships to go through the Jeju Strait," he said.
Cheong Seong-chang, head of unification strategy research at the Sejong Institute, echoed Yang's view.
Cheong said it is useless to stick to the sanctions and expect the North to say sorry for the Cheonan sinking.
"If the North admits its misdeeds and makes an apology, criticism in the South against Pyongyang will increase considerably, making it more difficult to improve South-North relations," he said.
He noted that the inter-Korean trade volume has steadily increased despite the sanctions as total turnover in Gaeseong complex increased. In addition, trade between Pyongyang and Beijing went up sharply in the wake of the sanctions.
Follow Jun Ji-hye on Twitter @TheKopJihye
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