(EDITORIAL from the Korea Herald on Aug. 12)

Change of tactics

Hyundai Group head Hyun Jung-eun's sudden visit to Pyongyang this week raises
hope that one of her employees at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex, who has been
detained by North Koreans for over four months, will be released soon.
Pyongyang's "invitation" of Hyun's visit at this time is a strong indication of
their readiness to end the controversy which did not serve the interests of
either side.

North Korea's official Central News Agency promptly reported the conglomerate
chairwoman's arrival in Pyongyang Monday afternoon at the invitation of Chosun
Asia-Pacific Peace Committee, the North's official body responsible for
inter-Korean businesses. Her trip was made by the ground route across the border
via Gaeseong, which the Northern authorities rarely permit.
Since the North Koreans took the Hyundai employee into custody in March on a
claim that he did something detrimental to national security, they have neither
allowed any Southern officials to meet with him nor provided information on his
whereabouts or conditions.
At the same time, the North has pressed the South for a four-fold raise of
salaries for the 30,000 North Korean workers in the inter-Korean industrial
complex and huge additional rentals for the real estate where over 100 South
Korean firms have production facilities.
It was typical of the arbitrary action the North has often shown in the past
decade of increased inter-Korean contacts. Seoul has, however, responded with
patience and caution despite complaints from civic groups of government inaction
for the man's release.
Time must have come for the North Koreans to realize the need for a more
practical approach especially after they "pardoned" two U.S. journalists who they
had detained for more than 140 days for illegal entry into the Northern territory
from China. If Bill Clinton's visit to Pyongyang saved face for Kim Jong-il, Hyun
Jung-eun's visit, perhaps with a proposal for certain material benefits, could
suffice as an excuse for the North's release of the Hyundai employee, as no
official compensation from Seoul was to be expected.
Pyongyang will also be seeking to use the occasion for a breakthrough in
inter-Korean tourism, in which Hyun's Hyundai-Asan Co. is the exclusive partner.
Since tours to Mount Geumgang were suspended a year ago after North Korean guards
shot to death a South Korean woman who inadvertently crossed into an off-limits
area in the mountain resort, Hyundai suffered a loss of over 150 billion won
($120 million). North Korea lost a similar amount.
The North Korean military commander responsible for the area is known to have
apologized to Hyundai officials for the incident. A stern warning has been given
to the North with the year-long suspension of the tour program. If Pyongyang
wants a deal upon the release of the Hyundai employee, the Seoul authorities may
positively consider reopening the Mount Geumgang tours, a project with profound
symbolic significance.
But problems remain. The wayward, unilateral manner of business shown in the
North's demand for drastically higher wages and rent as well as in halving the
supporting manpower from the South at the Gaeseong complex has sorely
disappointed South Korean businesses investing in the joint industrial project.
The extended detention of a South Korean employee, instead of a denial of entry,
for whatever mistake he made, amounts to hostage taking.
It may be still too early to predict a campaign of smiles replacing a round of
confrontational approaches but experience tells us that the best strategy is to
set up our own rules and stick to them in tackling the North Koreans' changing
tactics.
(END)