IT is unfortunate that the destiny of the Korean Peninsula and its people is in the hands of China and the US – not in the hands of the Korean people. Following the escalation in the bitter rivalry between Seoul and Pyongyang after the sinking of a South Korean warship on March 26, in which 46 sailors died, it was upsetting that the two Koreas quickly abandoned the negotiating table to the US and China, and started beating the drums of war on the Korean Peninsula. Acting by proxy, Washington and Beijing have dispelled the possibility of a war by declaring that they will jointly work to restrain the two Koreas and help sort out the crisis raging outside the negotiating room, before American and Chinese fingers get badly burnt. This US-Chinese declaration should embrace the two Koreas: their decision is not their own. Major economies, like those of the US and China, are trying to recover from the global economic crisis that struck two years ago, so I don't think that either Washington or Beijing is anxious to see a new war on the Asian continent. Antagonism mounted on both sides of the two Koreas'joint border, when Seoul accused Pyongyang of torpedoing one of its warships. Strongly denying this, North Korea offered to send an inspection team to examine the reasons for the incident. Pyongyang's proposal was allegedly rejected by Seoul. The situation deteriorated very rapidly when Seoul, apparently having obtained hard evidence that Pyongyang was responsible for the sinking of the vessel, banned North Korean ships from South Korean waters and stopped the exchange of trade between the South and the North. Seoul also decided to refer the incident to the UN Security Council to impose sanctions on Pyongyang – a move interpreted by Pyongyang as a ‘declaration of war'. Defending its innocence and insisting that it had been done an injustice, North Korea retaliated by abrogating the agreement on nonaggression between the North and South, and completely suspending inter-Korean co-operation. Pyongyang has also decided to sever all sorts of relations and communications with Seoul, while the Consultative Office for North-South Economic Co-operation in the Kaesong Industrial Zone will be frozen and dismantled. Worse, North Korea has threatened to start an all-out counterattack against Seoul‘s allegedly psychological warfare against Pyongyang. And that is not all. Last Wednesday, this newspaper quoted international news agencies as saying that North Korea has expanded its threats by warning that it will close the last road link with the South, “if Seoul goes ahead with propaganda broadcasts across the militarised border”. Nonetheless, this rapid deterioration inthe situation on the Korean Peninsula will surely not lead to a tragic war, in which the Korean people alone and their prospects would suffer. Direct dialogue should start immediately, while peacemaking committees should be revived. The scars left by the Korean War on the Peninsula are still vivid and painful. The wounds opened by the three year Korean War in the 1950s have started weeping again; if these wounds reopened, the consequences would be disastrous for the Korean people. Being left alone at the negotiating table, the two Koreas, whose citizens speak the same language, share a common culture and bear the same scars from the 1950s, will surely not find it too difficult to deal with this crisis peacefully and calmly. If people who speak other languages and have other interests and goals get involved, this will only complicate matters and it will take longer to reach a compromise. Seoul should not be blamed for asking the UN Security Council to investigate. Being a member of the international community, North Korea should accept the invitation to take the floor in the UN Security Council, so it can give its own version of what happened on March 26, backed up by the necessary evidence. The two Koreas should try and sort out their problems themselves, rather than listening to ‘alien'representatives who could convey, perhaps unintentionally, the wrong message to the wrong side. In the past, Pyongyang and Seoul have overcome many difficulties, which soured their relations and could have had grim repercussions. The Korean people must use what they have in common – their potential, history and culture – as a basis for resolving their dispute peacefully, amicably and sincerely. [email protected]
