With tense relations between Koreas,
little hope is seen for a summit
By Jim Lea, Osan bureau chief
What a difference a year makes.
Last June, South Korea’s President Kim Dae-jung and North
Korea’s leader Kim Jong Il made history by meeting face-to-face in North Korea. It
was the first time leaders from the two nations met since they were founded in 1948.
The summit triggered a whirlwind of cross-border meetings, and
euphoria reigned in the South where many people believed it meant unification of the
Koreas was in sight. A fragile détente appeared to be forming after 50 years of
bitterness highlighted by the 1950-53 Korean War.
Now, relations have faltered, and many believe the United States is
to blame.
The euphoria and optimism began to crumble when the Bush
administration entered office in the United States in January. Now, the emerging
South-North détente has appeared to have collapsed and the situation seems to be
returning almost to that of the Cold War days.
There have been no significant meetings between South and North
officials since early March when the South’s Kim journeyed to Washington to meet with
Bush.
In those talks, Bush said he was skeptical of the Pyongyang regime
and had no intention of resuming dialogue with the North until a comprehensive review
— which is still in progress — of U.S. policy toward the Stalinist state was
completed.
The South Korean government will not recognize the summit’s
anniversary with any state-sponsored ceremonies, but is encouraging private groups to hold
commemorative events.
One South Korean organization in South Korea has invited former Vice
President Al Gore to attend its conference in mid-June marking the anniversary.
A spokesman for the New Millennium Peace Foundation said Gore is one
of 20 Korean and foreign luminaries who have been invited to attend the conference, one of
few summit commemoration events planned in South Korea.
The South Korean government wanted to hold a joint commemoration
festival with North Korea from June 15 through Aug. 15, the 56th anniversary of the end of
Japanese occupation of the peninsula. But an official of the Unification Ministry, which
handles North Korea issues for Seoul, said Tuesday that plan has been abandoned because
officials of the two countries have not met to discuss it.
Besides canceling all meetings with the South, the North’s Kim
has reneged on making a visit to Seoul. He was invited to do so during the summit, but
there have been no cross-border discussions on such a trip.
Many South Koreans believe that visit would help relations. Kim Jong
Il said recently, though, that he would not consider making the trip until the U.S. policy
review is completed.
One former South Korean lawmaker, speaking on condition of anonymity,
summed up the feelings of many South Koreans by saying that there’ll be no official
commemoration of the summit anniversary “because unless there’s a significant
breakthrough soon between Pyongyang and Washington, there’s nothing to
celebrate.”
Back to May stories
Page Two news roundup
Stories from April, 2001
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 |
