[Editorial] One Year after Nobel Peace Prize, a Step Back on Sunshine Policy

Yesterday, President Kim Dae Jung gave a speech at the 100 year celebration of the Nobel Peace Prize which opened in Oslo. We cannot help but feel terribly ambiguous when we compare the present state of the nation with that of a year ago when President Kim received the prize.

In his acceptance speech, President Kim said, "I and North Korean leader Kim Jung-Il have made considerable progress in reaching an agreement on cooperating with one another for the security of the people and reconciliation." A year since that speech, however, there has not been any progress in South-North relations. Only retrogression and further blows to the process were repeated. In the place of the moving emotions felt at last year`s South-North Summit, there is only a feeling of emptiness and sense of betrayal by the North.

President Kim also said, "The Sunshine policy is the only policy and a win-win policy for the peace and welfare of the two Koreas as well as for the whole world." repeating the same words he spoke a year ago. President Kim further expressed self-satisfaction about the 10 point agreement reached at the September South-North minister meeting saying, "It was truly a proud national accomplishment ."

It is our opinion that President Kim`s perception of the North must change. Even if the Sunshine policy is the only proper policy, that does not mean that the strategy in dealing with the North has to remain the same. If the North becomes unreasonable and uncooperative, we have to be able to bring out the whip. The kind of Sunshine policy that we have been pursuing has no such force. It only offers carrot after carrot. The `10 point agreement` reached at the September minister meeting was a case where we fell right into the hands of the North and revealed to them our impatient state of mind. There has been no progress on any of the 10 points. Is this a time to boast to the whole world when the reality is so stark?

The problems that can be caused by President Kim`s consistent stance on North Korea could get unexpectedly sizable. This `give and then see` attitude can give North Korea the edge in terms of making unreasonable demands and insistence. The thought that the President is not reading the South-North situation clearly causes concern. It is also worrisome whether those around the President are not able to report anything that may contradict his thinking on the issue. We saw signs of this when a high ranking national intelligence official spoke on Kim Jung-Il`s visit at the National Assembly, saying "We think that it will materialize."

Now is not the time to advertise the Sunshine policy in the international arena but a time to reexamine the content and progress of the policy. That is the first step toward President Kim`s changing his stance on North Korea.