(EDITORIAL from The Korea Herald on Nov. 26)

Sealing the border

It is not hard to fathom why North Korea is sealing the border with the South
after a decade of increasing crossings and broadening inter-Korean exchanges.

The
North Korean authorities can no longer condone the growing contact between their
people and South Koreans visiting the North for tourism and business purposes.
They determine such contact to be a serious threat to social stability.
The increasing presence of South Koreans in the North and the surge of
information that comes with them has approached a dangerous level that threatens
to puncture the social fabric of the North. They have decided that this needs be
halted.
More than a million South Koreans visited the Mount Geumgang resort over 10
years, and 110,000 traveled to the ancient city of Gaeseong in the last year. In
the Gaeseong industrial complex, 30,000 North Korean workers are employed in
South Korean-operated plants. Southern businesspeople and members of civic and
religious groups fly to the North by the thousands every month.
North Korean refugees continue to arrive in the South via China and other
countries and they serve as clandestine channels of communication between two
halves of Korea. While the North Korean rulers were grappling with their nuclear
bombs, the lower rungs of the Northern society were being gradually absorbed by
influences from the South.
The North is taking prohibitive measures at the sacrifice of great financial
gains. Suspension of Mount Geumgang and Gaeseong tourism means a monthly loss of
millions of dollars. If the industrial complex itself is closed as the North
implicitly threatens, damage will be serious not only to the South but to the
North. Still, Pyongyang would make the decision if it is deemed necessary to
protect its system.
As long as Pyongyang chooses the course to isolation and further destitution,
there is little Seoul can do for the time being except wait for Northerners to
change their minds. If the North Koreans believe that they can make do without
Southern help and extract assistance from the United States through the nuclear
deal, there may be a need for diplomatic efforts to ensure joint steps with
Washington to convince Pyongyang of the futility of such an approach.
No sudden review of North Korea policy is recommended. While maintaining
consistency and firmness toward the North, the authorities here should only
consider remedial measures for businesses that will suffer from Pyongyang's
unilateral breach of accords on inter-Korean cooperation.
(END)