| Published on: | 2011-02-09 11:13:34 |
Military officers from North and South Korea have re-established talks today in the border village of Panmunjom.
This comes after their first meeting, which occurred after North Korea bombed the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong last November, killing four people. Also, the sinking of a South Korean warship by a North Korean torpedo which killed 46 South Korean last March, left very little hope for a constructive dialogue between the two countries.
James Hoare, Senior Teaching Fellow at SOAS at the University of London, who spoke exclusively to The Fresh Outlook, claims that the talks are but the start of the process: “It might lead to something more, if both sides want it to, but equally, the gap between them, the tensions created over the past three years, which intensified last year with the sinking of the South Korean corvette in March and the shelling in November, do not inspire optimism.”
On the contrary, Dr Tat Yan Kong, a member of the Centre of Korean Studies at the University of London, who also spoke to The Fresh Outlook, considers that it might not lead to anything: “They had to hold a meeting as China and the US did the same some weeks ago. This put pressure on the two Koreas to meet as well.”
Colonel Moon Sang-gyun of South Korea and Colonel Ri Son-kwon of North Korea restarted negotiations between their two countries in talks aimed at setting the date, place and agenda for higher-level talks, possibly at the level of defence ministers, reports South Korean news agency, Yonhap.
Despite this, the South's defence ministry said it won't agree to ministerial-level talks unless North Korea apologises and takes "responsible measures" for the November 23 shelling of Yeonpyeong Island and the torpedo attack on a South Korean warship.
As Dr Yan says, North Korea is interested in achieving a peaceful relationship with South Korea as this will endear them to the US: “For North Korea, an agreement with South Korea is the bridge to improve their relations with the US,” claims Dr Yan. He added: “At the moment, the US depends basically on China, and North Korea would like to be on that scene too, that is its ultimate goal.”
For Dr Hoare, “something approaching a miracle” would be needed for North and South Korea to reach some sort of understanding: “You do not wipe out the hostility of sixty years and the memory of a civil war in a single meeting.”
By Eva Fernandez
[Image courtesy of Wikimedia]
This comes after their first meeting, which occurred after North Korea bombed the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong last November, killing four people. Also, the sinking of a South Korean warship by a North Korean torpedo which killed 46 South Korean last March, left very little hope for a constructive dialogue between the two countries.
James Hoare, Senior Teaching Fellow at SOAS at the University of London, who spoke exclusively to The Fresh Outlook, claims that the talks are but the start of the process: “It might lead to something more, if both sides want it to, but equally, the gap between them, the tensions created over the past three years, which intensified last year with the sinking of the South Korean corvette in March and the shelling in November, do not inspire optimism.”
On the contrary, Dr Tat Yan Kong, a member of the Centre of Korean Studies at the University of London, who also spoke to The Fresh Outlook, considers that it might not lead to anything: “They had to hold a meeting as China and the US did the same some weeks ago. This put pressure on the two Koreas to meet as well.”
Colonel Moon Sang-gyun of South Korea and Colonel Ri Son-kwon of North Korea restarted negotiations between their two countries in talks aimed at setting the date, place and agenda for higher-level talks, possibly at the level of defence ministers, reports South Korean news agency, Yonhap.
Despite this, the South's defence ministry said it won't agree to ministerial-level talks unless North Korea apologises and takes "responsible measures" for the November 23 shelling of Yeonpyeong Island and the torpedo attack on a South Korean warship.
As Dr Yan says, North Korea is interested in achieving a peaceful relationship with South Korea as this will endear them to the US: “For North Korea, an agreement with South Korea is the bridge to improve their relations with the US,” claims Dr Yan. He added: “At the moment, the US depends basically on China, and North Korea would like to be on that scene too, that is its ultimate goal.”
For Dr Hoare, “something approaching a miracle” would be needed for North and South Korea to reach some sort of understanding: “You do not wipe out the hostility of sixty years and the memory of a civil war in a single meeting.”
By Eva Fernandez
[Image courtesy of Wikimedia]
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