NK`s frequent breaches of promises

Disappointingly enough, North Korea, following its unilateral postponement of the fifth inter-Korean ministerial talks, again notified Seoul of its decision not to participate in the agreed South and North Korean joint team for the international table tennis championship. The inter-Korean agreement on the formation of a joint team for the 46th World Table Tennis Championship to be held in Osaka, Japan, was one of the outstanding outcomes accomplished during Culture-Tourism Minister Kim Han-Gill`s visit to the North on Mar. 10. It is incomprehensible that the North Korean regime so easily broke the agreement reached between the nations for whatever reasons they may be. The ministerial talks that were to be held beginning Apr. 3 remain in limbo, as Pyongyang is keeping mum on the matter without giving official reasons.

The North has yet to give explanations about why it broke the accord on the joint participation in the Osaka ping pong games. In the telephone message sent to Seoul, the North did not specify the background for its failure for the two sides to reach a complete agreement and other alleged preparation problems. If there were any problems that had made it difficult to form a joint inter-Korean team, the North should have to reveal what they are. Analysts generally observe that Pyongyang`s breaches of a series of agreements with Seoul may have stemmed from its discontent over the administration of President George W. Bush`s hard-line stance toward the communist state. If this is true, the North has serious problems with its way of thinking. The key point of the June-15 South-North Joint Declaration is the solution of the bilateral questions under the initiatives of the two nations concerned. Hence, it is self-contradictory for the North Korean regime to stall the development of inter-Korean relations on the pretext of its peculiar relationship with the United States.

If Pyongyang is really desirous to improve its relations with the U.S., it should be more positive than before for better ties with the South. If and when inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation make good progress, the Bush administration`s negative perception toward the Pyongyang leadership would be surely modified in favor of the North. If the North repeatedly reneges on the government-to-government accords, the North Korean regime would be increasingly losing confidence in the international community and it will have to suffer disadvantages thereof.

Admittedly, the South Korean side has some responsibility for the stagnation of inter-Korean relations of late. In short, there is no denying that the Seoul side had been pushed around by the North Korean counterpart in dealing with bilateral issues, in the quest for some eye-catching accomplishments in the inter-Korean programs. For instance, Minister Kim, upon his return from Pyongyang, hurriedly made public his agreement on the formation of a single inter-Korean table tennis team, despite the fact that he brought with him any pertinent documents signed between him and a responsible North Korean official. The Pyongyang regime has maintained a consistent policy to gain practical interests from the South, while evading practical talks for concluding a peace treaty and military tension reduction, conducive to establishing peace and security on the Korean peninsula. Now is the time for the North to come up with a responsible posture in this regard.