Tensions in Korea

Last Saturday's bloody incident in Seoul suggests hopes for reunification of the divided Koreas remain as forlorn as ever, despite efforts made by countries in the Asia-Pacific region for a peaceful Korean reunion.

Tension in the Korean peninsular heightened following the shooting of 37-year-old Lee Han-young by North Korean agents in Seoul, an act which Pyongyang claimed was a "retaliation of the kidnapping of top North Korean ideologist Hwang Jang-yop" by South Korean officials, an allegation Seoul denied.

Hwang -- a member of North Korea's ruling Workers' Communist Party who sought asylum at the South Korean embassy in Beijing last Wednesday -- is the highest Pyongyang official to have defected since the Korean nation was divided into two.

Hwang's defection signified the Pyongyang Stalinist-style government under Kim Jong-il is beginning to crumble and it was obviously a great blow to North Korea already reeling in food shortages and economic failures.

Hwang, as one of the 10 powerful members of the party's decision-making central committee, knows a lot of secrets regarding the power structure and security of the Pyongyang government, making his defection all the more embarrassing to Kim Jong-il and his regime.

Even worse, newspapers in Seoul reported yesterday that Hwang had met with agents from the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and handed over a list of seven more high-ranking North Korean officials wanting to defect.

South Korean foreign ministry officials denied the reports. Pyongyang threatened that "if the South uses force to move him (Hwang) to Seoul, we will respond with force".

Hwang had reportedly wanted to flee to the South since last August. Given this, Pyongyang's threat and dispatch of gunmen to kill defectors cannot be justified.

The situation in the peninsula is a very serious one that may develop into bloodier conflicts. Hence, the Pyongyang and Seoul governments should tackle the problems calmly and prudently.

Seoul's reconciliatory gestures yesterday that it would seek dialog to defuse the current tension should be reciprocated by Pyongyang. The shooting incident should not escalate into bloodier conflicts that would only bring hardship and disaster to millions of innocent Koreans on either side of the peninsula.

In this way, Pyongyang could again prove its good will in helping achieve a united prosperous Korea. Pyongyang's image was tainted by violating South Korea's sovereignty when its marines infiltrated to the South last September.

With peace in the peninsula, countries in the region would obviously enjoy more development and prosperity.