Mega nudges North Korea to resume dialog with South
Mega nudges North Korea to resume dialog with South
Susanto Pudjomartono, The Jakarta Post, Pyongyang
President Megawati Soekarnoputri used the extraordinarily warm
reception she has received in North Korea to rekindle old ties
with Kim Jong-il and to nudge the reclusive state to reengage in
dialog with South Korea.
Megawati, who will leave for Seoul on Saturday morning after a
two-day stay in Pyongyang, also subtly hinted at Jakarta's
readiness to lend a friendly mediating hand if needed.
Aware of the apparent amiable perception Pyongyang has of
Jakarta, the Indonesia President deftly played her diplomatic
cards.
She veered as far away as possible from appearing too eager to
push the publicly hyped agenda of getting North Korea back into a
dialog with the South, and instead dropped subtle hints about
the importance of dialog.
Such was the reception given to her that officials here on
Friday broke diplomatic tradition when the supreme North Korean
leader, as host, "visited" Megawati, who is supposed to be the
guest at the Paekhwawon State Guesthouse.
Without explanation, the meeting between Megawati and Kim
Jong-il also saw major changes. Originally due to be a half-hour
meeting involving several ministers, the two leaders held a
private hour-long talk accompanied only by two interpreters.
Absolutely no details of the meeting were divulged, however it
is known that Megawati arrived in North Korea with a special
message, from both South Korea and the United States, to
encourage Pyongyang to reengage in peace talks and the possible
reunification of the peninsula.
Apart from high politics, the two leaders also may have been
catching up on old times and swapping notes as the ruling
offspring of revolutionary leaders.
The two last officially met as teenagers, during meetings
between their fathers Sukarno and Kim Il-sung some four decades
ago.
Earlier on Thursday night, during a dinner hosted by Kim Jong-
nam, the head of North Korea's Presidium, or parliament, Megawati
infused a strong political message into her address.
"As a friend, I wish to sincerely encourage your excellencies
to further dialog ... to explore issues of common interest," she
said.
She remarked that "in dialog there are always opportunities,
no matter how delicate the issue".
With little clamor she also suggested that "as brothers and
sisters", Indonesia is happy to offer its "good offices" to North
Korea.
Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Hassan Wirayuda, before
leaving for Pyongyang, said Indonesia and other members of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would engage in
"positive and constructive engagement" to bring an isolated North
Korea back into the international community.
Megawati also lauded on Thursday night Pyongyang's continued
contribution to the ASEAN Regional Forum security dialog.
In a light moment on Friday between Megawati and Kim Jong-il,
the latter asked why the gift of a painting he had just received
had two Balinese dancing girls, while a painting given to Kim
Jong-nam's earlier in the day only portrayed one girl.
Megawati said that "it's to show more respect to you".
Megawati's visit to Pyongyang is the second leg of a four-na
tion tour that also includes China, South Korea and India.