Thursday, April 26, 2001

By Jim Lea, Osan bureau chief

North Korea’s only hope for survival is to cooperate with the South and the United States, South Korean President Kim Dae-jung told former military leaders Tuesday.

The relationship would be beneficial to both Koreas, Kim said at a meeting with South Korean veterans who established the nation’s army in 1948.

"We’re trying to engage in a give-and-take deal with North Korea, not because we trust them but because it is beneficial to each other," said Kim, whose comments were broadcast on South Korean television Tuesday.

North Korea boasts an "army-first" policy, building up its military despite severe food shortages that have forced the country to depend on outside aid to feed its people.

Therefore, Pyongyang is very anxious to resume talks with Washington because there is no other way than through dialogue to relieve current tensions between North Korea and the United States, Kim said.

As Kim spoke, however, Pyongyang’s state-operated Korean Central News Agency was saying "reckless provocations and aggressive activities by the U.S. threaten to renew confrontation and tension" on the peninsula.

The KCNA report, monitored in Seoul, was the latest blast in an escalating propaganda campaign triggered in March after President Bush told Kim that he is in no hurry to renew talks with the North since he is skeptical of the North Korean regime.

Relations between the two Koreas had been gradually improving following last June’s inter-Korea summit.

Relations between Pyongyang and Washington also began improving when the Clinton administration, in its final days, launched an engagement policy with the North.

The Bush administration, however, has adopted a harder line, saying it is reviewing U.S. policy.

The Bush administration’s stance is hurting all parties, said the America’s former point man on North Korean policy.

"We have an unprecedented opportunity to achieve a real peace for the Korean people and stability for the region," William Perry said during a conference on North Korea that was held last week at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. "The new administration faces profoundly difficult problems that could cause it to miss this opportunity."

Former Washington Post writer Don Oberdorfer, who also attended the conference, said Bush’s comments to Kim have been widely interpreted as a "slap in the face," undermining Kim’s dealings with the North. The Bush administrations stance also has hurt Kim’s political standing domestically, Oberdorfer said.

The Korean Peninsula "may be entering a new period of danger" partly because of the U.S. administration’s refusal to open dialogue with the North, he said.

Bae Gi-chul contributed to this report.

Back to April's stories
Page Two news roundup
Stories from March, 2001
Stories from February,2001
Stories from January, 2001
Stories from December, 2000
Stories from November, 2000
Stories from October, 2000
Stories from August and September, 2000
Stories from June and July, 2000
Home