'RI must play a role in Korean peninsula'
Veeramalla Anjaiah, The Jakarta Post/Jakarta
Indonesia must help to resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula by using its close links with North Korea, a group of South Korean scholars said in Depok, West Java.
"Right from the beginning, Indonesia has had close links with North Korea. Even at the personnel level, the leaders of Indonesia and North Korea have been maintaining good rapport for several decades. Indonesia must use its links with North Korea to resolve the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula," Prof. Yoo Ho- yeol from the Korea University said in a seminar on the Role of Indonesia in Inter-Korean Relations.
The seminar was held at the University of Indonesia's Faculty of Social and Political Sciences on Friday.
Indonesia is one of the very few countries that has close relations with both South Korea and North Korea.
"Previously, Indonesia facilitated dialog between North and South Korean officials in Jakarta. So, we wish that Indonesia continue its efforts in convincing North Korea to engage in dialog with South Korea and resolve disputes in a peaceful manner, including nuclear issue," Prof Kim Soo-il, another participant of the seminar, from the Busan University of Foreign Studies, said in fluent Bahasa Indonesia.
He was referring to the meeting between the foreign ministers of both Koreas last year during the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) meeting in Jakarta. The other meeting was between South Korean Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan and North Korea's president of the presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly Kim Yong-nam in April during the Asian-African Summit in Jakarta.
Prof. Kim has been Indonesia's honorary consul in Busan since 1993.
But an Indonesian scholar have a different view on the role of Indonesia in the inter-Korean relations.
"After the 1997 crisis, Indonesia is still preoccupied with internal matters. It doesn't have time or energy to focus on external issues. But Indonesia can contribute through ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), ASEAN+3 and ARF processes to resolve the nuclear issue peacefully," said Makmur Keliat, a main speaker at the seminar and an expert on East Asian Studies at the University of Indonesia.
Prof. Kim and Prof. Yoo and 19 other Korean scholars came to Indonesia on an invitation from Jakarta Governor Sutiyoso. All the 21 scholars are members of the Korean Political Science Association.
Earlier, the dean of the Faculty of Social and Political Sciences Prof. Gumilar Rusliwa Somantri welcomed the Korean delegation and introduced his staff members to them.