[LETTER TO THE EDITOR]The carrots don’t work

South Korea’s engagement policy toward the North is endlessly generous, yet ineffective.
Since the administration of former President Kim Dae-jung, who offered more than 40 billion dollars’ worth of assistance to the North during his presidential term, South Korea has been practicing an engagement policy toward North Korea.
Yet the results were the rupture of negotiations between the two Koreas, and the North’s declaration that it possesses nuclear weapons.
Now it is time for South Korea to learn from the past that offering only carrots will not help open up North Korea.
Also, considering that the North Korean nuclear crisis is on the verge of explosion, South Korea must clarify its stance and cooperate with the United States to denuclearize the North.
Rather than unconditionally assisting the North with fertilizer and opposing the United States’ plan to take this case before the UN Security Council with no certain alternatives, the government must make its own position clear.

by Hur Young-ran