JOIN USSouth Korean President Moon Jae-in's charm offensive, which began with inviting North Korean delegates to the PyeongChang Winter Olympics in February 2018, is paying dividend, with the announcement of a summit between the two sides to be held in late April on the South Korean side of Panmunjom.
According to South Korea's presidential National Security Director Chung Eui-yong, who led a 10-member diplomatic delegation, North Korea expressed "definite" interest in denuclearisation, though analysis suggests little scope for substantive agreement. Both have agreed to set up a hotline between their leaders to allow close consultations and a reduction of military tension. They also agreed to hold the first phone conversation before the third summit.
After the Winter Games were over and North Korea's Kim Jong-un expressed interest in a dialogue with the South, Moon sent his special envoy to Pyongyang to lay the groundwork for easing of tensions on the Korean Peninsula and to explore the possibility of talks between the reclusive regime and the US to tackle the nuclear deadlock. The talks were believed to be "open-hearted".
The decision to hold the inter-Korean summit at the Demilitarised Zone Peace House in Panmunjom showed Kim Jong-un's "practical" approach as the site is a symbol of confrontation and therefore showed Kim's bold personality and decisiveness.
Kim's move, following a series of missile launches and nuclear tests in 2017 that heightened tensions and triggered the prospect of an imminent conflict, could help restore South Korea's trust in the North and prevent an escalation of tensions. The fact that both Koreas agreed to hold the summit demonstrated their determination to take matters into their own hands in tackling the nuclear crisis on the peninsula without any outside mediation or intervention.
This was the first time that South Korean officials met with Kim Jong-un in person since he assumed power after his father's death in late 2011. The agreement to hold the third inter-Korean summit not only showed the determination by both sides to
resolve the nuclear standoff on
the Korean Peninsula but also opens up the possibility of talks between North Korea and the US
as Pyongyang met US preconditions for talks to some extent by agreeing to put denuclearisation on the negotiating table.
North Korea, however, did not confirm those concessions. If correct, this would amount to dramatic about-face of a firm position that its nuclear weapons programme, which it says it maintains for its own survival against US aggression, is not for negotiation. The US has said that it can only start a dialogue with North Korea when it agrees to discuss denuclearisation.
The summit-level talks in April would be the third time that the two Koreas would be meeting. The earlier talks were held in the years 2000 and 2007, and the outcome was the launch of a series of cooperative projects. These projects were scuttled during subsequent conservative administrations in South Korea. Moon now wants to restore the lost trust.
However, it is inconclusive that Pyongyang has completely reversed its earlier position on the nuclear issue. North Korea's new announcement is open to interpretation as it was conditional - it would give up its nuclear weapons programmes once the regime's survival is guaranteed. It remains unclear if the US would scale down its position and agree to sit across the negotiating table to discuss North Korea's denuclearisation.
While Kim expressed his desire to "write a new history of national unification" during the four-hour long dinner he hosted for the delegates from the South, the underlying tone was to convince the US and other countries to withdraw international sanctions and pressure. The good thing is that each new development has raised possibility that each side is trying to keep the momentum generated during the Winter Games.
While China and Russia would be happy at this turn of events in the Korean Peninsula, the same cannot be said about the US and Japan, both of which remain distrustful of North Korea's sincerity and would expect further guarantees from Pyongyang. President Donald Trump carries mixed feelings about the forthcoming summit, hope and scepticism. Hope, because it opens up the way for a potential diplomatic breakthrough; scepticism, because of North Korea's long history of deception and threats with nuclear missiles.
While Trump claimed credit for compelling Kim to come to the negotiating table through sanctions and China's support, US Vice President Mike Pence was categorical in saying that the US posture does not change until credible, verifiable and concrete steps are seen towards denuclearisation.
India has a limited role in the Korean issue, but it might be appropriate for it to play its card through diplomatic channels, since it maintains embassies in both Koreas and commands respect from both. Given its image of a peace-loving nation, Kim Jong-un could be expected to take India on board and use its goodwill to his advantage. Seoul would also welcome India's help.
(The writer is ICCR India Chair at Reitaku University, Japan)