[Editorial] An important discussion of peace

The Hankyoreh-Busan International Symposium, held for the second time since its beginnings following last year's APEC summit in that city, was held in the Nurimaru House, the stage for the summit, under the

theme "Testing for Peace in Northeast Asia After North Korea's Test of a Nuclear Bomb." Organized by the city of Busan and the Hankyoreh Foundation for Reunification and Culture, the main theme dealt with by the symposium was what independent and supportive roles city, provincial, and local governments can take when the response by national governments to the complex problems of East Asia has been inadequate. The idea is that even if national governments remain confrontational and antagonistic, frequent and active contact and

exchange between cities can deter the outbreak of disputes. Participants talked about ways of building greater cultural understanding through film festivals and local cultural festivals, and about the specific conditions and things that will need to be done to realize what once seemed like just a dream, the construction of a "Silk Rail Road," a rail link across Eurasia.

Ultimately, however the focus of the discussion ended up being how to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue, because without a fundamental resolution to the political and military crisis heightened by the North's decision to go ahead with a nuclear test, there can be no reality-based discussion of how to build a railway that connects the

whole of the Korean peninsula and link it to Siberia. It was nice to have a complicated situation in all of its multi-sided, contradictory aspects debated with such depth, especially when you consider how Korea's intellectual landscape has been full of simple-minded commentary about the North Korean nuclear crisis. It needs to be

remembered that the issue is not just one for North Korea, which the administration of U.S. president George W. Bush calls a "rogue nation" or a member of the "Axis of Evil," but also for the United States. There needs to be a new kind of global realization about the eradication of nuclear weapons, because countries that have the bomb

continue to criticize Pyongyang for its nuclear test while forgetting their own obligations when it comes to reducing their nuclear stockpiles.

The section of the two-day symposium that was most popular with the general public was a discussion between South Korea's representative to the six-party talks and the ambassadors of the U.S., Japan, and Russia. It was unfortunate that the Chinese ambassador was not in attendance, but it was meaningful to have ambassadors from the main nations participating in the talks all in one place in a serious exchange of views. During the question-and-answer period, they faced strong demands from the audience for a reduction of military tensions

in East Asia and a peaceful resolution to the North Korean nuclear crisis. We hope that the earnest supplications expressed in the meeting hall are conveyed in full to their respective governments, and that this leads to tangible accomplishments at the upcoming round of six-party talks.