Sensible deals

Although North and South Korea are still technically at war, yesterday's agreement on grain shows that people are taking precedence over politics.

Horrific news stories emanating from the North have given the world an insight into a situation in which starving people are reported to have even resorted to cannibalism. It is clear that this is a developing tragedy on a scale that is normally associated with areas such as the Horn of Africa.

South Korea's Samsung Economic Research Institute has warned North Korea would suffer its worst-ever food shortages in the coming three months unless it received aid from the South.

It is gratifying, therefore, that Red Cross negotiators from the two sides have now reached a basic agreement on the supply of thousands of tons of grain to Pyongyang.

Since both Red Cross organizations are closely linked to their own governments, this may be interpreted as a thinly veiled intergovernmental deal.

In another welcome and logical step, Seoul has allowed a South Korean firm to enter into the first joint venture in North Korea in two years. Both these decisions are important steps in the cautious inter-Korean reconciliation process.

If there is to be reunification on the peninsula it is best done on a gradual, step-by step basis. Helping the North to develop its economy will, in the long term, make reunification easier and less costly for the South.

It will also blunt the aggressive edge of the North Koreans and make them less tempted to resort to war. At the same time, it will bring North Korea into the international community, making it less of a threat to the security of the whole region. The South should follow this up with more deals of this nature.

-- The Hong Kong Standard