Welcome to BASE21

Writer: cho su hyun

-After the death of Kim Il-sung, a pessimistic view has been prevalent concerning a summit meeting. When do you think the atmosphere became conducive towards a summit meeting?

At the time of Kim Il-sung's death, the issue of the nuclear inspection was an international problem and the tension in the peninsula was very high. Carter had been sent as a way of getting out of that critical situation. The present political regime has been discussing unification since its beginning, and has steadily pushed forth a policy for accumulating the trust of North Korea. Abandoning their extreme isolation policy is necessary for North Korea in view of their extreme food-shortage problem. The open-door policy is inevitable for any sort of development, and North Korea knows that there is nothing to do but accept South Korea as a partner. In this regard, it is safe to say that both the North and South needed this summit meeting.

-Many subjects to be dealt with at the summit meeting have been mentioned, including the dispersed family problem and the economic cooperation problem. In your opinion, at what level do you think these subjects will be dealt with?

The most crucial item is economic cooperation, which North Korea wants desperately. It is inevitable that economic cooperation will be the main key to the summit meeting. However, this does not mean that South Korea must give economic support with nothing in exchange. Also, to appease the conservatives of the South, humanitarian questions such as that of dispersed families must be dealt with as well. But I for one think that South Koreans should not consider dispersed families as a humanitarian matter, but rather as a political matter.

-What do you think is most needed for us to do before the summit meeting?

I think the most important thing is the attitude of the South. We should reconsider the thoughts that we have held against the North for the past half century. When citizens of the two Koreas meat, the North Koreans act naturally whereas the South Koreans are uncomfortable. This is because we have been thinking all our lives that North Korea is a strange nation, and we hold many prejudices. When we talk about unification, the high costs are always mentioned. In fact, the costs for unification is less than the cost for maintaining the separation. There are still many voices opposing the summit meeting, headed in the media by Chosun Ilbo. We need an objective view towards the North.

-What do you expect from the USA in the summit meeting?

The Americans involve themselves in our foreign affairs, but the degree differs according to each situation. The USA is also an interested party in the relation between North and South Korea, and we must cooperate closely. However, the situation should not be controlled by them. There are those who are worried about the upcoming American presidential election, but I don't think there will be that much of a difference even if the Republican Party takes power. The American policy towards North Korea has not changed since the Bush administration. However, I do think that the North Koreans wanted to have the summit meeting within the term of the Democratic Clinton administration.

-Because of internal changes within China and Russia, their policy towards the two Koreas has been changing as well. What do you think about the influence of South Korean diplomacy with China and Russia on their the relations toward North Korea?

The important thing is that after the fall of socialism, the socialist nations were overwhelmed by capitalism. North Korea had to join in with the capitalists to survive, especially since both China and Russia did so as well. Our interaction with China and Russia will eventually involve North Korea as well.

-South Korea's research on North Korea runs the gamut from Professor Song Doo-yul's 'The Intrinsic Critical Study' to Dr. Lee Jong-suk's 'The Intrinsic Pessimistic Study'. What kind of view do you have about our country's research of North Korea?

I think studies on North Korea are divided into three generations. In the first generation, there were Kim Chang-sun and Kang Il-sun, the former Minister of Unification. They were ideologically anti-communist and read many North Korean original texts. The second generation studied North Korea with the international political paradigm in mind. But this point of view made North Korea seen a foreign country to us. It also had a bias regarding North Korea as a deviated and less-developed country. The third generation had the third world theory, which is a standpoint which sees North Korea more independently.
Recently the emphasis has been on diversifying the views and to understand the intrinsic logic objectively. But until now the study on North Korea has been insufficient because it is limited to politics, leaving out practical matters. 'The Intrinsic Pessimistic Study' is a perspective rather than a method. Various perspectives are being offered these days, which urge us to look over North Korea carefully from the bottom.

-What do you think of the students' movement towards Unification?

I think that the appearance of 'Jusapa' indicates that there must be a basis within South Korea. The question of unification at that time had much value by the mere virtue of being asked. Even among the students, there is a sort of Fascistic structure in need of an internal revolution. The ideologies discussed so far had been concentrated almost exclusively on politics. What we need is understanding of the North Korean people, their culture and everyday life. The more interaction there is between the people of two Koreas, the better it will be. What worries me is the interaction led by some groups only for purposes of show.

-Even with the summit meeting in view, the National Security Law still exist. What is your position on this matter?

As a matter of fact, there are many thing to worry about. The laws must be changed in accordance with the changing relations between North and South Korea. Above all, we must actively change things such as the National Security Law, and the focus of the unification movement should be shifted in that direction. The more democratic our society becomes, the more important these matters will become. The change must be brought about by the people. Change is needed.