S. Korea to 'involve' U.S. in parleys with North

By F.J. Khergamvala

TOKYO, MARCH 13. South Korea has allayed U.S. apprehensions that a comprehensive peace declaration between the two Koreas at a planned second summit in May could lead to calls for an early withdrawal of U.S. forces deployed in the South.

The Yomiuri Shimbun reported on Tuesday, quoting U.S. government sources, that the South Korean officials were ``working with U.S. government experts'' on the wording of the declaration. The analysis added that after being told of Washington's concerns about the possible consequences of a tightly worded North-South declaration, the South's President, Mr. Kim Dae-jung, promised to involve the U.S. ``during the entire process of drawing up the declaration''. Mr. Kim's visit to U.S. was preceded with preparatory trips by his Foreign Minister and also by the intelligence chief.

Mr. Kim is winding up a six day trip to the U.S. and the most important facet of the visit is for one ally to influence the others' policy towards the North. In his speeches and remarks after the meeting with the U.S. President, Mr. George W. Bush, Mr. Kim has been markedly more circumspect, without surrendering the fundamental direction or purpose of his sunshine policy. He has, for example, used the term ``comprehensive reciprocity'', to address qualms at home and in the U.S. about giving away too much to his North Korean counterpart, Mr. Kim Jong-Il.

The Yomiuri did not produce more evidence to suggest that the declaration was being redrafted to accommodate U.S. concerns, or that the U.S. was not yet ready to move forward with any policy of its own. The logic strongly fits the chronology and the dynamics of the entire North, South process.

The pre-visit statements had already indicated there could be a loss of momentum from where the former U.S. President, Mr. Bill Clinton, handed over to Mr. Bush. But, with hindsight, the meeting in the White House has compensated by buying time and opening out more options for all three parties.

After a content-bland but photo-rich first ever summit in June 2000, it was widely known that Seoul and Pyongyang would in May have to give impetus to the thaw by adding real content, especially on troop reduction, de-mining, specific economic measures like rail infrastructure etc. At the Kim-Bush meeting, the U.S. did support another North-South Korean summit.

Contrary to the common perception, the first ever meeting on developments on the Korean peninsula on Wednesday last week (in Washington), between Mr. Bush and Mr. Kim have expanded the latter's options on the peninsula, while buying time for the Bush Administration to undertake a fuller review of its Koreas and East Asia policy.

Mr. Kim and Mr. Bush's views converged on curbing North Korea's missile programme and on close coordination between South Korea, the U.S. and Japan. Mr. Bush supported the sunshine policy of engagement but was not ready to address specifics on Pyongyang's missile programme, such as its satellites being launched by another country. Without an accurate inventory of the North's missiles, verification was irrelevant.

In Seoul, the conservative opposition to Mr. Kim is certain to use Mr. Bush's remarks as a vindication of their own unhappiness at the pace and non-reciprocal nature of the sunshine policy. Consequently, if Mr. Kim so desires, he could fall back on a harder line with Mr. Kim Jong-Il and seek greater reciprocity and make less down-payments. He seems to be using Mr. Bush's warnings to ward off earlier made North Korean demands for a pull-out by some of the 37,000 American troops deployed in the South.

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Section  : International
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