US Recommend South Not To Implore North

The Bush administration delivered its opinion that the South doesn`t have to take a positive action to the inter-Korean dialogue when the North does not participate in the table dialogue with honesty.

The U.S. explained the results of their review on their policy against North Korea to South Korea at the Trilateral Coordination and Oversight Group in Honolulu on May 26 and 27, pointing to the South Korea’s haste attitude to resume the Korean peninsula quadripartite meeting.

The U.S. argued that it is not recommendable for Korea to bring out the issue of the quadripartite meeting and consequently allow the North to utilize the meeting as an option to negotiate.

The U.S. participants also criticized that the North unilaterally had cancelled the 3rd inter Korean minister-level meeting last March and, with a pretext for the North-U.S. relationship, had not responded to the South Korean request for the inter-Korean dialogue.

A high official clarified the U.S. intention by saying, ``Since it is the North which is desperate [for economic aides,] the South doesn`t have to implore the North for the resuming of the dialogue.`` ``It typifies the pragmatic policy of the Republican diplomacy,`` he commented.

The official also anticipated that, even though the Bush administration decided to start the U.S.-North dialogue unconditionally, the U.S. may continue to portray a negative position in the North Korean dialogue if the North does not show a positive response.

The South Korean government is to deliver the their final position to the U.S. on the review of U.S. policy against the North Korean policies, by Yang Seong-Chul, the Korean ambassador in the US, at the end of this week.

Boo Hyung-Kwon bookum90@donga.com