(EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on Aug. 10)

Principles and Pragmatism
Seoul Should Not Wait but Induce Pyongyang's Change

Bill Clinton's successful mission to take two U.S. journalists back home last
week naturally placed Seoul officials under additional pressure.

President Lee Myung-bak, who went on a vacation while Clinton was visiting
Pyongyang, said ``the government is doing all it can'' for the release of the
detainees. Cheong Wa Dae officials, who had been bent on downplaying the former
U.S. president's visit as a private mission, also said, ``(Much like a swan,) you
may only see peace on the surface, but ceaseless movements of its webbed feet are
being made below the water.''
A South Korean who was also in Pyongyang while Clinton was there, however, quoted
North Korean officials as saying, ``There must be some `below-the-surface'
contacts between the two Koreas like those between America and North Korea to
solve the detainee problem'' ??? a comment which raises questions about whether
and what efforts are being made by the Lee administration.
Fortunately, there have been signs the communist country is softening its stance
toward its capitalist rival in recent days. From reported moves to resume family
reunions in autumn, to a North Korean official's meeting with Hyundai Asan
chairwoman Hyun Jung-eun, they are all actions that would hardly be possible
without Kim Jong-il's nod of approval. The problem is that most ??? if not all
??? of these inter-Korean thaws come under the initiatives of the North while the
South just waits for Pyongyang to change its mind.
Take none of these to mean the Stalinist regime can be justified in any way, with
its prolonged detention of a Hyundai worker without specifying his crime, let
alone not allowing him to meet with company officials or have a phone
conversation with his family members. Most regrettable of all, this outrageous
infringement on the basic rights of a Korean, from the country the North always
emphasizes as ``the same nation,'' comes in stark contrast with its ``relatively
more humane'' treatment of the two Americans.
Even if this ``reverse discrimination'' reflects the gap in diplomatic values
between Washington and Seoul as Pyongyang sees it, then the reclusive regime
should at least refrain from repeating its hypocritical rhetoric of putting the
Korean nation ahead of all else.
Apart from the North's wayward behavior, painfully missing in the Lee
administration's diplomacy is the flexibility of separating pragmatism from
principles, or humanitarian from nuclear issues, as was the case in the
U.S.-North Korean relationship. By dispatching a former president, the U.S.
administration has gained precious, accurate information about the situation and
intentions of its adversary, as well as ensuring the safety of its citizens.
Washington still separates the release of the reporters from its denuclearizing
demands, but will be able to make a more correct policy based on Clinton's
``mission report.''
Nothing contrasts more with the Lee administration's rigid, inflexible North
Korea policy over the past one-and-a-half years, paraded under the pretext of
``principle'' and ``policy consistency.'' President Lee's diplomatic team,
however, should heed observers' criticism questioning whether the administration
has any policy true to its name as far as North Korea is concerned, besides the
option to freeze all relationships with Pyongyang until it abandons its nuclear
programs.
President Lee and his aides ought to recognize North Korea as it is ??? a normal
U.N. member state ??? instead of only as an ideological adversary that may
collapse at anytime. The latest thaw in the U.S.-North Korean relationship came
when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton showed signs of recognizing the North's
sovereignty.
President Lee should recognize agreements at the inter-Korean summits and resume
humanitarian projects separately from nuclear issues. His Liberation Day speech
on Aug. 15 will be a good place to start.
(END)