This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/07/world/asia/north-and-south-korea-agree-to-dialogue.html

The article has changed 8 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 4 Version 5
North and South Korea Agree to First Dialogue in Years North and South Korea Agree to First Official Dialogue in Years
(about 5 hours later)
SEOUL, South Korea — North and South Korea on Thursday agreed to hold their first government dialogue in years, raising hopes that they were moving toward a thaw in relations after a prolonged standoff marked by military provocations from the North and retaliatory economic penalties from the South. SEOUL, South Korea — North and South Korea agreed Thursday to hold their first government dialogue in years, an abrupt change after tensions over the North’s nuclear program this year escalated into one of the divided peninsula’s worst crises.
The development came after North Korea made a surprise overture on Thursday, proposing official negotiations with the South to discuss reopening two shuttered joint economic projects as well as humanitarian programs. South Korea, which has demanded such talks in recent months, quickly accepted the offer, proposing that the two sides hold a cabinet minister-level meeting in the South Korean capital, Seoul, next Wednesday. The announcement raised hopes that the two countries were moving toward a thaw in relations after a prolonged standoff in recent years that included military provocations from the North and retaliatory economic penalties from the South.
The sudden change was a dramatic turn of events on the divided Korean Peninsula, which lurched through one of its worst crises in recent months after the North conducted its third nuclear test. It comes a day before President Obama is to meet in California with President Xi Jinping of China, North Korea’s main ally, where the North’s behavior was expected to be a main topic. The agreement came after North Korea made a surprise overture on Thursday, proposing official negotiations with the South on reopening two shuttered joint economic projects, including the recently closed Kaesong industrial park, as well as humanitarian programs. South Korea, which has demanded such talks in recent months, quickly accepted the offer, proposing a cabinet minister-level meeting in the South Korean capital, Seoul, next Wednesday.
The North’s offer followed blunt talk by Mr. Xi, who recently told a high-level North Korean envoy visiting Beijing that the North needed to return to international talks aimed at ending its nuclear program. Analysts on Thursday cast the North’s latest move as a possible political gambit meant to ensure their benefactors in China do not bond with Mr. Obama over North Korea’s refusal to give up a nuclear program that is becoming increasingly sophisticated, and dangerous. The sudden change comes a day before President Obama’s scheduled meeting in California with President Xi Jinping of China, North Korea’s main ally. The North’s recent belligerence — including threats of nuclear attacks if provoked — was expected to be a main topic of discussion.
Last month, Mr. Xi told a high-level North Korean envoy visiting Beijing that the North needed to return to international talks aimed at ending its nuclear program, which is becoming increasingly sophisticated and dangerous. Analysts on Thursday cast the North’s latest move as a possible political gambit to ensure its benefactors in China do not bond with Mr. Obama over North Korea’s defiance.
“It is trying to shift the international focus from applying sanctions and pressure on the North to starting dialogue with it,” said Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul.“It is trying to shift the international focus from applying sanctions and pressure on the North to starting dialogue with it,” said Koh Yu-hwan, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University in Seoul.
The two Koreas had cut off official dialogue soon after North Korean soldiers shot and killed a South Korean tourist in 2008 and the South’s government retaliated by suspending tours to a North Korean mountain resort. The Chinese, who have grown increasingly frustrated with their recalcitrant ally, not only backed United Nations sanctions over the North’s nuclear test in February, they have also taken public steps to confront North Korea including ordering the Bank of China to stop dealing with the North’s largest foreign-exchange bank.
North Korea proposed that the two Koreas discuss reopening the Kaesong joint industrial complex just north of the Demilitarized Zone separating the countries. The eight-year-old complex, the last symbol of inter-Korean cooperation from years of warmer relations, was shuttered after North Korea pulled out all its 53,000 workers in April. Analysts suggested that another motivation in trying to reopen the joint ventures with South Korea is to generate badly needed revenue. Kaesong’s factories, which paired North Korean workers with South Korean capital and management, alone generated $90 million in hard currency each year for its workers; experts say the state took much of that money.
North Korea also proposed resuming the cross-border tours suspended since 2008, as well as reviving Red Cross programs for arranging the temporary reunions of aging Korean families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. The eight-year-old complex, the last symbol of inter-Korean cooperation from years of warmer relations, was closed after North Korea pulled out all its 53,000 workers in April amid the latest crisis.
The South’s Unification Ministry accepted the North Korean overture as a “positive” sign. Until Thursday, North Korea had rejected the South’s repeated call for official dialogue to discuss the fate of the Kaesong factory park. Thursday’s overture was one of the few conciliatory moves made by North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong-un, who has made his mark during a year and a half in power by defying the United States and South Korea.
“We hope the government-to-government talks will become an opportunity to build trust between the South and North,” it said in a statement. The Obama administration said it welcomed news of the North-South dialogue. “We support, and have always supported, improved inter-Korean relationship, and we will continue our close coordination with our allies and partners in the region,” the State Department’s spokeswoman, Jen Psaki, said. Still, the overture could complicate American strategy, which has been hard-line and focused on economic punishments to force the North to make real concessions on its nuclear program.
In a statement Thursday, North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland said “Our position has been consistent for promoting the reconciliation and solidarity of the nation and achieving reunification and peaceful prosperity.” It added that “The South’s authorities should not miss this opportunity if they really want to build trust and improve North-South relations.” The two Koreas cut off official dialogue soon after North Korean soldiers shot and killed a South Korean tourist in 2008 and Seoul retaliated by suspending tours to a North Korean mountain resort.
The North Korean proposal on Thursday for talks was far broader in scale than the limited inter-Korean dialogue the government of President Park Geun-hye in Seoul had put forward to help South Korean factory owners bring out finished goods from the shuttered Kaesong factory complex. Besides reopening Kaesong, North Korea also proposed resuming the cross-border tours to the resort, and reviving programs for arranging the temporary reunions of Korean families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
Analysts said the North Korean proposal could force Ms. Park, a conservative, to decide whether to revive the inter-Korean projects without any progress in denuclearizing North Korea. South Korea said the date and agenda for the talks with North Korea would be announced later, once the North restored cross-border communication lines, as it said on Thursday that it would. Until Thursday, North Korea had rejected the South’s repeated call for official dialogue to discuss the fate of the Kaesong park.
Analysts said the North was seeking a return to the level of inter-Korean economic cooperation that had prevailed on the peninsula for a decade until 2008. Family reunions, the fate of the Kaesong complex and the tourism program in the North’s Diamond Mountain were among the best-known joint projects from that era. “We hope the government-to-government talks will become an opportunity to build trust between the South and North,” the South’s Unification Ministry said in a statement.
North Korea’s overture comes as it pursues a goal of reviving its moribund economy while simultaneously expanding its nuclear arsenal. It recently unveiled a new set of incentives designed to raise productivity on farms and in factories. North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, meanwhile, said, “Our position has been consistent for promoting the reconciliation and solidarity of the nation and achieving reunification and peaceful prosperity.” It added, “The South’s authorities should not miss this opportunity if they really want to build trust and improve North-South relations.”
In her speech on Thursday, Ms. Park, who is scheduled to meet Mr. Xi in late June, reiterated her criticism of North Korea's aggressive policies. She said they would "never work and would only isolate it" and that North Korea needed to give up nuclear weapons and open the way for the international community to ease sanctions and help it with its economy. The North appears to be seeking a return to the level of inter-Korean economic cooperation that had prevailed on the peninsula for a decade until 2008, analysts said.
Despite the development, some analysts were skeptical of long-term change. As the two Koreas moved toward official dialogue, "there is no fundamental change in their positions," said Dong Yong-seung, a North Korea specialist at the Samsung Economic Research Institute. “Denuclearization remains a stumbling block.” They said that the North Korean proposal could force the South Korean president, Park Geun-hye, a conservative, to decide whether to revive the inter-Korean projects without any progress in denuclearizing North Korea. South Korea said the agenda for the talks with North Korea would be announced later, once the North restored cross-border communication lines, as it said on Thursday that it would.
For decades, North Korea has been trying to force Washington to start a dialogue to sign a peace treaty with it. But the United States had in recent years wanted to deal with the North mainly within the framework of the six-nation talks on denuclearization, which were last held in 2008 and that are currently being pushed again by China. In a speech on Thursday, Ms. Park, who is slated to meet Mr. Xi late this month, reiterated her stance that North Korea must give up its nuclear weapons to open the way for the international community to ease sanctions and help with its economy.
After years of engagement, North Korea still did not end its nuclear programs, leaving Washington reluctant to resume those talks unless North Korea signals it is serious about giving up its nuclear weapons. Washington also wants North Korea to improve ties with South Korea first. Despite the announcement on Thursday, some analysts were skeptical of any long-term change. “There is no fundamental change in their positions,” said Dong Yong-seung, a North Korea specialist at the Samsung Economic Research Institute. “Denuclearization remains a stumbling block.”
The North Korean proposal on Thursday indicated that the North was embracing at least part of Washington’s demands. The Obama administration has been leery of returning to the international talks the Chinese are pushing again; in the past, the North moved ahead with its nuclear programs despite talks and considerable investment from South Korea. Washington has also said it wants North Korea to improve ties with South Korea first, before reviving the international talks that involve six countries.
China has also grown increasingly frustrated with North Korea’s nuclear ambitions but remains concerned that applying more pressure on the country — an approach championed by Washington and Seoul — raises the risk of destabilizing the insular regime in the North, and the region. It sees the six-nation talks — which includes China, the United States, the two Koreas, Japan and Russia — as an alternative. The proposal by North Korea indicated that it was meeting at least part of Washington’s demands.
Official Chinese media reported that North Korea promised to “accept the suggestion of the Chinese side and launch dialogue with all relevant parties,” when the special envoy of the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, was in Beijing in late May.” But it remained unclear if Mr. Kim’s representative was referring to the six-nation talks. Until then, North Korea had said it was no longer interested in the dialogue.

Mark Landler contributed reporting from Washington.