Experts urge Seoul to work for US-NK talks

U.S. experts have called on Seoul to take a more proactive role to promote inter-Korean reconciliation, at an academic forum Tuesday.

They said Seoul’s further engagement with Pyongyang is the only way to restart contact between Washington and Pyongyang, during a seminar hosted by the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

“Without progress on the South-North front, and without pressure from the South Korean government on the U.S. government, nothing is going to happen,” said Joel Wit, the founder and editor of 38 North, an academic website that covers North Korea.

The expert pointed out that the Obama administration has had little interest in resuming talks with the repressive regime. Its diplomatic stance toward Pyongyang will hardly change as the U.S. is facing a presi- dential election, they added.

He advised that under such circumstances, Seoul should take the lead in changing the situation on the Korean Peninsula.

“Should the two Koreas hold a summit, it would make a lot of ripples in Washington,” Wit said. He added that Washington is concerned about Seoul not addressing the weapons of mass destruction issue, and the possible summit will help find a solution to the problem.

Last week, Sung Kim, the U.S. spe- cial representative for North Korea, said that he hoped inter-Korean talks would support U.S. efforts to denuclearize the North.

Robert Carlin, a visiting scholar of International Security at Stanford University, also mentioned that it is high time for Seoul to take the lead.

“Pyongyang may consider waiting until the next government for inter-Korean dialogue unless it witnesses any substantial changes in the third year of President Park’s presidential term,” Carlin said.