Korea: North-South relations

South Koreans visiting the reclusive North Korea might seem like a giant step in relations between the two countries. Having been divided for 50 years during which the two sides have fought a disastrous war and remained ideologically separate, it may indeed appear to be a major development in bilateral relations. But we need to be cautious on this occasion and not go into raptures at the possibility of this proposed people-to-people contact leading quickly to the normalization of inter-state relations. The South Korean patriarch Chung Ju Yung who visited North Korea with gifts of cars and cattle met Pyongyang's leader Kim Jong Il, the son of the founding father of North Korea, Kim Il Sung.

That itself is a development of international significance. As analysts of international affairs will understand, meeting the leaders of such isolated nations is never easy, unless one has been especially invited for some special event and carries the honor of being a state guest. The leaders of some of these countries are virtually deified and meetings with foreigners are scarce. So when the North Korean leader paid a visit to the visiting South Korean businessman it was indeed a rare and significant occasion. It would seem that the younger Kim is willing to be more relaxed and open and would not hesitate to establish contacts with his South Korean brethren if he sees some special advantage in them.

Maybe the visit of South Korean tourists to the north will bring some economic benefits in the way of earnings for the cash- strapped country. But the differences between the two Koreas are so fundamental that they cannot be solved after two or three visits to the north by southerners. It involves the presence of foreign troops in the south, Pyongyang's suspected nuclear development program and other issues which will take long and arduous negotiations to resolve.

-- The Hong Kong Standard