The road to peace is in communication

As the nation turned its attention to Iraq this past week, I arrived at the South Korean embassy in New York City looking for answers about the Pacific component of Bush's "axis of evil." In my interview with Ambassador Wonil Cho, the Counsel General of the Republic of Korea, I sought to investigate the unique relationship between North and South Korea for my Foreign Correspondence seminar term project. What I found was some interesting commentary on politics concerning North Korea.

Recent developments in North Korea have caused alarm for South Korea, separated from its northern counterpart only by a heavily guarded 155-mile-long and 2-mile-wide Demilitarized Zone.

Under the leadership of Kim Jong Il, North Korea has recently withdrawn from the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty and reopened its nuclear reactor in Yongbyon. In October, the government admitted to having a program to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons.

Earlier this month, four North Korean jets attempted to intercept an American reconnaissance plane flying close to the North Korean border. And, two rounds of short-range missile firings into the Sea of Japan have been cause for further alarm the past few weeks.

Worldwide reactions

Cho and many Western news sources have concluded that these latest developments are Kim and his government's way of attracting global attention.

Kim is attempting to use his nuclear capabilities to draw the United States to the negotiating table, which so far the Bush administration has been resisting. Not wanting to fight a two-front war, the American government is leaning towards a multilateral diplomatic solution for North Korea.

"North Korea is trying to draw the attention of Americans and Americans are taking the right position," said Cho. "Nations with direct interests such as South Korea, China, Japan and Russia as well as America can solve this together."

The South Korean ambassador believes that North Koreans would be intimidated in a multilateral forum where other countries might single them out as the evil party. He is looking for a solution that would satisfy all parties, and help the people of North Korea.

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The European Union announced last week that it was planning to meet to discuss the North Korean nuclear situation as well.

"To make the situation more conducive for peace, we are showing North Koreans that we are listening to them and that they are not discarded by all of us," Cho said. "We value our ongoing dialogue with North Koreans and are committed to keeping the channels open."

Direct contact with the citizens of North Korea is the best method, in the ambassador's opinion, for enacting change within the country. "We are working on creating cities of exchange for people-to-people contact," he said. "That is the only thing that we can develop, and then North Koreans can realize what is happening in the South."

Isolation

North Korea is a poor country with few sources of income. Thousands of its people have died of starvation in the past few years. I wondered why the people did not revolt when their government was building nuclear facilities while millions were hungry to the point of death.

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But, as Cho explained, the powers of the totalitarian state have brainwashed them. "People of North Korea have illusions. Even though they are very poor and many people are starving, they still think that they can occupy and control South Korea," he said.

"They believe that the North Korean leaders are heroic and benevolent and kind to them in comparison to the rest of the world," he continued. "They still believe that people in South Korea and America eat very little."

But, because there is no dissension within the nation, a resolution of the Korean problem is that much harder to obtain. Candidates in the country to replace the current regime are few and far between.

Cho estimates that there are roughly 11,000 scud missiles pointed at Seoul. The people living in the northern parts of Seoul, only 20 miles from the border and who know artillery is pointed at them, cannot talk about a war. "We have to be very careful, because [North Koreans] have nothing to lose," Cho explained. "They can exhibit totally irrational behavior, and we do not know what they will do."

With 37,000 American soldiers currently based in South Korea, this is also a direct threat to the United States. But, the ambassador feels that the situation is very different than that of Iraq. North Korea requires diplomatic attention to possibly reunite the two parts of the Korean peninsula.

Operation Iraqi Freedom, though, has precipitated North Korea to begin arming itself for a possible war with the United States, according to a U.N. envoy who just returned from the country.

In the meantime, Cho explains that South Korea is sending food to the people of the North and slowly trying to change their mindsets. Unfortunately, for the moment, prospects for peace on the Korean peninsula look dim.