Thaw or False Spring in N. Korea?

American officials are hailing as historic this week’s visit to Washington by Cho Myong Nok, regarded as North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s senior advisor and the highest-ranking Pyongyang official ever to visit the United States. Certainly Cho’s meetings with President Clinton, the secretaries of State and Defense and others are meant to signal a clear break from the enmity that has prevailed since Communist North Korea’s invasion of South Korea 50 years ago. What remains to be seen is whether any substance underlies this symbolism, whether Cho’s visit represents a true thaw or a false spring.

Since their two leaders met in June, relations between North and South Korea have done little to encourage a sense that Pyongyang has embarked on a genuine change in course. It has let opportunities to ease tensions and strengthen ties go begging, ignoring Seoul’s proposals for such confidence-building measures as a military hotline between the two countries and an exchange of military observers.

Two more meetings for separated family members have been scheduled, but participation again will be limited to only 100 from each side, out of the millions divided by war. Meanwhile, South Korean President Kim Dae Jung’s government continues to reward the destitute and hungry North with increased shipments of food and fertilizer.

The United States also has been extremely generous to the North in recent years, providing hundreds of millions of dollars in food and energy aid. But like Seoul, Washington waits for reciprocity. It wants North Korea to halt its long-range missile program and end missile technology exports to such countries as Pakistan, Iran and Libya. And it is eager to see a mutual reduction of forces along the demilitarized zone dividing the peninsula.

North Korea, for its part, is pushing to be dropped from the State Department’s list of countries supporting terrorism, but before that happens, much remains to be cleared from Pyongyang’s deplorable record, including its long history of kidnapping Japanese citizens.

Washington should insist on specific and readily verifiable steps to reduce tensions and improve relations, especially given rising impatience in Congress over a policy that so far--despite its high cost--has produced few tangible results. In South Korea too doubts are rising over whether President Kim’s “sunshine policy” of wooing the North is making headway in terms of reciprocal benefits.

One message U.S. officials should make certain to deliver to North Korea’s envoy this week is that time is running out for Pyongyang to demonstrate that it is serious about a change of course.