(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on Nov. 14)

Just waiting?

The North Korean military on Wednesday threatened to "strictly restrict and cut
off" all overland border crossings starting Dec. 1. Later that day, North Korea's
Red Cross announced that it would close the liaison office and telephone hotline
at the truce village of Panmunjom.
Clearly, inter-Korea relations are at a critical point. Pyongyang's threatened
actions would further damage the relationship, which has remained virtually
frozen since the inauguration of Lee Myung-bak.
North Koreans have been upping the ante with regard to the Gaeseong Industrial
Complex, a joint project held as a symbol of economic cooperation. On Nov. 6,
North Korean military officials visited the complex and asked how long it would
take for businesses to evacuate. Wednesday's statement is also targeted at the
industrial zone.
The North Korean announcement did not come as a surprise. Such action had been
threatened by the North as a protest against the distribution of propaganda
leaflets in North Korea by South Korean civic groups.
North Korea also took issue with what it described as Seoul's failure to honor
agreements signed at inter-Korean summits in 2000 and 2007. The two agreements
cover wide-ranging economic cooperation.
President Lee Myung-bak sought to take control of South-North relations by
linking economic cooperation with progress made in North Korean nuclear
disarmament. Since then, exchanges between the two countries have stalled.
Lee's statement that South-North relations would be based on the spirit of the
Basic Agreement signed in 1991 has angered Pyongyang, which accuses Lee of not
keeping to the 2000 and 2007 agreements.
In fact, the past nine months have seen Pyongyang at various occasions calling
for Seoul to implement the 2000 and 2007 agreements, and Seoul largely dodging
the issue, saying that it is exploring ways to implement the proposals.
In responding to Wednesday's North Korean announcement, the Unification Ministry
reiterated that Seoul honors the spirit of all agreements between the two
countries, including the 2000 and 2007 summit agreements. The ministry proposed
dialogue to discuss their implementation. This is the first time that Seoul has
suggested talks specifically to discuss implementation of the 2000 and 2007
agreements.
The fact that Pyongyang has given ample notice of the stricter border crossing
control and has not completely shut down the border indicates that it is waiting
to see how Seoul will respond. After all, closing down the Gaeseong Industrial
Complex would mean the loss of a major source of revenue for the cash-strapped
communist state. Eighty-three South Korean businesses operate in the industrial
complex, employing some 32,000 North Korean workers.
President Lee said Wednesday that sometimes waiting was a strategy. However,
there must be some principle in this. It is hoped that the government is waiting
for a reason. North Korea has been calling the shots in South-North relations and
it is about time that Seoul did more than merely react to yet another North
Korean threat.
(END)