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The South Korean government seems to be at a loss when it comes to providing food aid to North Korea, due to differences in views over the matter among different ministries. Since being inaugurated into office, President Lee Myung-bak said his administration would attach no strings to the food aid it provides North Korea, but insisted on adhering to the principal that such aid must come only after a request from the communist country. But following Washington¡¯s recent decision to provide 500,000 tons of food aid to North Korea, South Korea¡¯s Foreign Ministry has softened its stance, saying the absence of a request from the communist country does not mean that Seoul will absolutely refuse to offer food aid. Then, South Korea¡¯s Unification Ministry put the brakes on the issue, saying there is no change in Seoul¡¯s policy that a North Korean request must precede any provision of food aid to the communist country.
There is no way North Korea would have missed a chance to take advantage of this rift within the South Korean government. North Korean officials in charge of South Korean affairs are said to have told visiting officials from the South that it would not reject food shipments from Seoul, but it would never request such aid. A policy of reciprocity, which was reaffirmed many times by the Transition Committee of President Lee even before he was inaugurated, has virtually disappeared since North Korea stepped up its verbal attacks against the South.
Looking at the logic behind the U.S. government¡¯s decision to provide North Korea with 500,000 tons of food aid, one can see the inseparable relationship between Washington¡¯s aim of justifying its ideals, while ensuring that its interests have been served. The U.S. government¡¯s provision of food aid was based upon the justification that it cannot stand by idly while children, women and the elderly starve to death. But the food aid was possible only because of the fact that North Korea has taken the first step in scrapping its nuclear program.
As we can see, in international relations ? especially in dealing with unpredictable countries like North Korea ? it is not wise to limit one¡¯s options based on the specific actions of the opposite side. That is why governments purposefully leave unclear and ambiguous areas open in international relations. But the South Korean government has bound its food aid to the impractical premise of a North Korean request.
North Korea policy must be flexible in embracing the communist country, mindful of the possibility of unification 20 to 30 years down the road. South Korea¡¯s present policy of engaging North Korea is neither dignified nor embracing.
We must calmly reexamine our North Korea policy from a long-term perspective, 20 to 30 years from now, while taking note of the fact that history, reality and time all favor South Korea. The South Korean government must not make any promises it cannot keep, while taking a dignified approach to ensure that the pledges it makes are kept no matter what. If something goes wrong with South Korea¡¯s policy on North Korea, this will lead to problems that are far greater than the troubles the South is experiencing with U.S. beef imports.
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