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North Korea: Incoming South Korean President Working Toward Deal South Korean President-elect Roh Moo-Hyun has already established communications with North Korea and will this month announce a possible deal that could resolve the current nuclear crisis on the peninsula, aides say (see GSN, Jan. 2). “We have been in contact with the North through various channels to find out what it really wants and we believe that the United States wants South Korea to play a role as a mediator so that Washington can reach a compromise without losing face,” a top assistant said. The deal will be presented in mid-January, according to Lim Chae-Jung, head of Roh’s transition committee. “A compromise deal is being prepared which will call for both [U.S.] President [George W.] Bush and (North Korean leader) Chairman Kim Jong Il to make concessions,” Lim said (Agence France-Presse/Bangkok Post, Jan. 3). The deal might ask the United States to guarantee the security of the North Korean leadership and assure economic aid, a source close to the transition team said. “The South could recommend that Washington declare its nonaggression stance formally and promise to ease economic sanctions while telling the North to scrap its suspected nuclear weapons program,” the source said. U.S., South Korean and Japanese officials will meet in Washington early next week to discuss policy on North Korea (Korea Herald, Jan. 3). South Korea also plans to coordinate its policy with Russian officials during Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hang-kyung’s visit to Moscow today, AFP reported (AFP/Bangkok Post). Lee Tae-sik, South Korean deputy foreign minister, was sent to Beijing to “resolve North Korea’s nuclear issue peacefully through dialogue,” according to South Korea’s Foreign Ministry. The United States announced yesterday it would not attempt to use humanitarian food shipments as a bargaining chip with North Korea, the Globe and Mail reported. “We don’t intend to curtail food for political reasons,” said U.S. State Department spokesman Richard Boucher (Paul Koring, Associated Press/Globe and Mail, Jan. 3). Seoul Declines United Stand Against Washington South Korean officials rejected North Korean offers to join forces against the United States, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported today. Seoul also warned Pyongyang not to go to far with its aggressive behavior. North Korea “should not attempt to test the limit of the patience of the international community,” said South Korean Unification Minister Jeong Se Hyun (Paul Shin, Associated Press/Philadelphia Inquirer, Jan. 3).
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