Why is Kim Yong-Sun visiting South?

The current visit to Seoul by Kim Yong-Sun, Secretary of the North Korean Workers¡¯Party, and his entourage is characterized by a fact-finding mission to prepare for the North`s Defense Commission Chairman Kim Jong-Il`s reciprocal visit to the South.

In addition, his Seoul visit has provided an opportunity for confirming the inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation created by the June 15 summit between the leaders of South and North Koreas. During the Pyongyang summit, the North Korean leader expressed his intention to President Kim Dae-Jung that he would visit the South after one or two visits here by its high-level delegations.

This means that Kim Jong-Il intends to come to Seoul after examining various problems including his safety during his stay here, as he will be visiting the country unlike the controlled North Korean society.

The Jeju Island and the Pohang Iron & Steel Corporation, which secretary Kim visited, are considered suitable places for the North Korean leader to make visits when he comes here. As for the Seoul side, the government is studying a plan to hold another round of inter-Korean summit in Jeju instead of Seoul, in view of security and some other reasons. Secretary Kim`s visit may be also aimed at facilitating the process of resolving the pending inter-Korean problems, which remains somewhat stagnant after the second round of the South-North ministerial talks.

Kim Yong-Sun, who is visiting here in a capacity of Kim Jong-Il`s special envoy, has had an opportunity to discuss inter-Korean problems without reservation with Lim Dong-Won, President Kim`s special aide and Director General of the National Intelligence Service. During their meeting,the two are learned to have discussed a wide-ranging issues involving Kim Jong-Il`s return visit, food aid in the form of loan, the installation of a military hotline, the holding of defense talks, the convening of the second Red Cross talks, and the meeting of the working-level officials for the re-connection of Gyeongui(Seoul-Shinuiju) Railways.

Meanwhile, the Kim Yong-Sun visit has provided a typical occasion to represent the salient state of the present inter-Korean relationship. Two Koreas held eight rounds of working-level contacts from October 5, 1993 to March 19, 1994, on the question of the exchanges of their special envoys but the talks ended in rupture with chief North Korean delegate Park Yung-Su`s provocative threats that Seoul would become a sea of blood.

Yet, this time, a North Korean emissary came to Seoul without prior consultations, in order to address the pending issues between the two Koreas. In particular, Secretary Kim and Lim are known to have mapped out a guideline for the convening of inter-Korean defense authorities` talks. This could lead to a starting point for the divided Korea to move toward the settlement of a full-fledged peace on the Korean peninsula, analysts observed.