The North-South Korean dialogue

We might borrow baseball terminology to describe the (North- South Korean) talks as the exhibition games that are played before the regular season opens. The two Koreas were still trying to get a read on each other's strategies and capabilities before the real games begin.

The history of the North-South dialogue suggests that pessimism is unwarranted. South Korea believes that the famine will force North Korea to come back to the bargaining table. Furthermore, North Korea also knows that it will not be able to normalize relations with the United States and Japan unless it resumes talk with South Korea. Hence, the North-South dialogue will inevitably resume.

North Korea will devise a new posture after it grasps the policies of the Kim Dae-jung administration. On the other hand, South Korea must take measures to prevent the polarization of public opinion at home and ensure that North Korea will not begin to harbor false expectations.

The current breakdown is not a failure, but a stage that each side must pass through in order to reach an understanding of the other side's policies and way of thinking. We hope that they continue to find a way to reconvene talks somewhere on the Korean Peninsula.

-- Mainichi Shimbun, Tokyo