As of late yesterday South Korea said it was still waiting for North Korea’s response. If Pyongyang does agree it would be the rivals’ first face-to-face meeting in 19 months. The last official talks between the two sides were held in December 2015.
Even if the talks do not materialise, the fact that one of the two parties, who still technically remain at war, is willing to break the deadlock is a significant positive step towards easing tensions in a highly volatile part of the world.
President Moon Jae-in came to power in May this year, and his policy towards his northern neighbour differs from that of his two conservative predecessors who toed a hard line when it came to dealing with Pyongyang.
President Moon’s overture is a clear indication that he prefers diplomacy to try to improve ties between the two Koreas and persuade Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons programme.
The offer of direct talks is significant as it comes just two weeks after North Korea conducted the first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
As per President Moon’s proposal, two sets of talks would explore ways to bring down tensions, halt hostile acts on the border, restore cross-border military and government hotlines and resume family reunions of ageing Koreans who have been separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
The first phase of proposed talks are slated be held at the border village of Panmunjom today to discuss how to ease border tensions, while on August 1 separate parleys would be conducted by the Red Cross to discuss family reunions. The last such reunions were held in September 2015.
Unlike his predecessors, President Moon has come to realise that any military conflict with North Korea would be disastrous for the South.
And clearly, sanctions don’t seem to be changing North Korea’s behaviour.
Pyongyang has been under sanctions for years. And during all these years, it has not shied from robustly pursuing its nuclear ambitions. So far, at least, sanctions have not worked on North Korea.
Lastly, there is wide national support for President Moon’s latest talks proposal. A recent poll found that nearly 76.9% of South Koreans favoured a return to inter-Korean dialogue.
China, which has close ties to Pyongyang and can make the latter see the merits of engaging in talks with its southern neighbour, has also welcomed President Moon’s proposal.
Observers believe North Korea will probably accept Moon’s offer of talks on easing border tensions, if not now then perhaps at a later date, as previously it has indicated its willingness to engage in such an activity. But Pyongyang might set a precondition for the talks, such as a suspension of annual South Korean-US military drills.However, chances for talks on family reunions are slim as North Korea has made it clear that it will not agree to a new reunion programme unless Seoul returns 12 waitresses who defected to South Korea last year from China. North Korea says South Korean agents abducted the waitresses, but Seoul has said they defected of their own free will.
That being the case, any kind of positive engagement between the two Koreas would be welcomed by a conflict-weary global community. Therefore, one hopes that the latest outreach by President Moon leads to the second edition of the ‘Sunshine Policy’ that the two Koreas witnessed between 1998 and 2008, when the world saw a flurry of political engagements, agreements and exchange programmes between them.
