The visit to Pyongyang by former president Kim Dae Jung scheduled for this April has been postponed until June, after the regional elections coming on May 31. The explanation given by one of his secretary is that there were members of his staff who thought it best to avoid being seen as having political motives, as might have been the case had he gone as initially scheduled. That strongly hints that the visit is being postponed because of opposition to the timing by the Grand National Party (GNP). Indeed, the GNP had strongly been demanding that the visit be put off until after the elections, claiming that going in April would negatively influence elections.
It is regrettable that Kim Dae Jung's plans to visit North Korea had to be caught up in partisan wrangling. The GNP has long called for cooperation that goes beyond party affiliation on issues connected to intra-Korean relations, but it will find it hard to avoid criticism for approaching progress in relations from an exclusively partisan viewpoint. Uri, as the ruling party, is also a problem for failing to get the main opposition GNP's cooperation.
Now that there is no longer any room for it to be politicized the government needs to be fully behind Kim's trip. If he is able to go by way of the Seoul-Sinuiju railway and that leads to the link's formal opening it will mean a new turning point in relations as, among other things, the railway becomes part of the infrastructure needed to carry goods to and from the industrial park in Gaeseong.
One would also hope that North Korea cooperates to make the visit coincide with the sixth anniversary of the intra-Korean summit on June 15. Pyongyang has invited him on numerous occasions, so it is hard to understand why now that the trip is it has remained silent. If the North is more proactive towards Kim's visit and intra-Korean dialogue in general it will contribute to achieving a breakthrough in the current situation.
The Hankyoreh, 21 February 2006.
[Translations by Seoul Selection]
[Editorial] Postponing Kim Dae Jung's Visit to Pyongyang |
