Hit by North Korea’s unexpected fourth nuclear test, the Park Geun-hye government is facing mounting calls for an overhaul of its cross-border policy to induce the unruly regime to change course and better counter its unbridled threats.
Though the president vowed to make Pyongyang “pay the price” for its latest provocation, Seoul appears to have few options on its own other than a possible closure or downsizing of a joint factory park in a North Korean border city, and a curb on already dwindled cultural exchanges.
As part of the first step, the Defense Ministry on Thursday announced a restart of anti-North broadcasts within the Demilitarized Zone on Friday. The Unification Ministry also said it will partially limit the entry of its citizens into the Gaeseong industrial complex. Only businessmen directly in charge of the operation of the factories will be allowed for the time being, the ministry said, adding it will also delay or reconsider academic and other civilian exchanges and assistance programs.
The South’s measures ― particularly the resumption of the propaganda broadcast that had been briefly reopened and then suspended again upon the Aug. 25 agreement last year ― are likely to be countered with further provocation from the North.
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Vehicles from the Gaeseong industrial complex leave the Dorasan Customs, Immigration and Quarantine Office in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, Thursday. (Yonhap) |
The North has been advancing what it calls its “nuclear deterrence” against the U.S. and the South since Park assumed office in February 2013, shortly after its third atomic experiment. It has held several rounds of submarine-launched ballistic missile tests, upgraded rocket and nuclear sites and now claimed to have produced a hydrogen bomb.
“The more the U.S. jumps out of skin with its anti-North Korea hostile policy, the more painstakingly our military and people will press ahead with the party’s byungjin line,” the Rodong Sinmun, the North’s ruling Workers’ Party’s mouthpiece, said Thursday, referring to the Kim regime’s parallel pursuit of nuclear and economic development.
“Our tests and possession of hydrogen bombs is in line with our legal sovereign right that no one can argue about.”
Seoul, meanwhile, has made little progress in inter-Korean relations, sticking to Park’s much-trumpeted “trust-building process” designed to reengage the regime while deterring its saber rattling by gradually forging trust through small projects, which would then lead to greater collaboration in line with the communist state’s denuclearization.
Yet Pyongyang has ditched Seoul’s past offers made as part of the initiative, and both sides failed to build on the momentum for dialogue during rare talks ― including last month’s meeting that broke down due to the unbridgeable gap in their demands.
The ministry’s latest decision to curb civilian exchange and assistance projects also runs counter to the trustpolitik principles calling for greater humanitarian and infrastructure support for the impoverished neighbor as measures to lay the foundation for an eventual reunification.
“I think the administration brought the crisis upon itself by pushing ahead with unrealistic ideas at a time when it was supposed to resuscitate the dormant denuclearization talks,” a diplomatic source said, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter.
“Now that the freeze in inter-Korean ties is likely to stay for months, the clock is ticking for the incumbent government with much less leeway and chances to maneuver.”
With the North’s growing asymmetric threat, lawmakers from both the ruling and opposition camps also relayed calls for revamping the current strategies to break the vicious cycle and block Pyongyang from furthering its nuclear capabilities.
“It’s time for us to redefine our diplomacy with China, Japan and other countries and establish a North Korea sanctions-related system with leaders of the neighboring countries,” said Rep. Suh Chung-won at a meeting of the ruling Saenuri Party’s senior members.
Saenuri lawmaker and retired three-star general Rep. Hwang Jin-ha said: “The government should take steps to make the North realize that it cannot avoid being slapped with strong sanctions unless it gives up nuclear weapons, while formulating new, practical measures to block its nuclear program.”
During an emergency gathering of the parliamentary defense committee, the lawmakers also criticized Seoul’s eroded leverage in cross-border ties, as well as its failure to detect any signs of the test in advance.
Officials at Cheong Wa Dae and the foreign, defense and unification ministries said Thursday they will “comprehensively examine” their options and take additional retaliatory steps.
Given the critical roles of Washington and Beijing in the North Korean nuclear issue, however, Seoul’s priority remains inexorably on stepping up diplomatic efforts with the major stakeholders and U.N. Security Council members. Most inter-Korean cooperative programs have long been on hold except for the Gaeseong district due chiefly to the South’s bilateral bans imposed in 2010.
“The loudspeaker program is one of our military options as a response to the nuclear test but it’s not everything we have,” Defense Minister Han Min-koo said at the session.
“There are various measures that the government could take, so we will implement them in phases after a comprehensive review.”
By Shin Hyon-hee (heeshin@heraldcorp.com)
