Consensus Lacking in North Policies

As President Kim Dae-jung urged the nation to "discard impatient reunification desires" a South Korean delegation that traveled to Pyongyang for Liberation Day celebrations was sending mixed signals.

"It was like opening Pandora's box," one official at the Ministry of Unification said, unable to hide his embarrassment over the government's inability to rein in some of the delegates. They defied instructions from Seoul to refrain from participating in commemorations that could be controversial, such as those held at Communist memorials. Some of the delegation even lauded the spirit of Kim Il-sung, the North's founding leader, at his birthplace.

"I don't know what to make of inter-Korean relations any more," a 38-year-old housewife said.

The imbroglio of the delegation in Pyongyang, representing about 200 organizations with different ideological tinges, reflects South Korean society, analysts said. The specialists point to two major reasons for the confusion.

First, the June 15 Joint Declaration signed by the leaders of the two Koreas, states that a federation proposed by the North and a confederation put forth by the South have "elements in common."

"Public consensus was not reached on the details of the declaration, nor was the declaration systematized, leading to the kind of confusion we saw in Pyongyang last week," Professor Koh Yu-hwan of Dongkuk University noted.

Second, analysts point to the government's tendency to devise North Korea policies without consulting with the National Assembly or gauging public opinion about the policies.

"The government should set principles as to what is allowed and not allowed in exchanges with the North," Professor Kim Young-su of Sogang University said.

Critics say efforts must be made to acknowledge the spectrum of ideologies present in South Korean society while looking for a rationale for coexistence based on existing laws in order to reduce the confusion.

by Oh Young-hwan