Koreas’ Milestone Meeting Mostly Talk

The first meeting in half a century between North and South Korean defense ministers apparently didn’t go much beyond pleasantries and sightseeing Tuesday. But the fact that they talked at all was enough for observers to hail the meeting as a milestone toward peace on the peninsula.

South Korean Defense Minister Cho Seong Tae and Kim Il Chol, the North Korean minister of the People’s Armed Forces, adjourned their two-day rendezvous on South Korea’s palm-strewn Cheju Island with a vow to reduce military tension and diminish the threat of war along one of the world’s most heavily fortified borders.

But the defense ministers released few details and apparently failed to come up with the specifics that South Korea had hoped for: establishment of a military hotline between the two nations; notification of troop movements; and observation of military exercises in the demilitarized zone, which is riddled with more than 1 million land mines. They agreed to resume talks in November.

The failure to achieve more illustrates that the North is approaching the effort--set in motion during the historic June summit between the two nations’ leaders--with far more caution than does the South, which advocates a faster timetable. Some critics charge that the Communist North is deliberately delaying to earn more aid from South Korea, which already has promised hundreds of millions of dollars worth of food, fertilizer and other assistance.

For example, the North has stalled on setting dates for additional reunions of separated families and establishing mail exchange between the two nations. No phone or mail service exists between the two Koreas, whose citizens have had virtually no communication with each other since war broke out on the peninsula 50 years ago.

There are an estimated 10 million people on the peninsula, many elderly, who are desperate to see relatives across the border, and the South began pushing for additional reunions just after meetings of family members were held in August. At that time, 100 people each from the North and South were allowed to cross the border and see relatives in highly restricted three-day meetings.

The North delayed talks and reportedly asked--unsuccessfully--for 1,000 computers to aid in finding lost relatives. Only last week did the North Korean International Committee of the Red Cross agree to similar events in November and December. The North is also permitting a limited exchange of letters between some members of separated families, though details weren’t released.

The South chalked up the North’s reluctance to caution.

“You can’t expect much from the first meeting of the defense chiefs,” a South Korean Defense Ministry spokesman said, according to Reuters news service. “Issues of mutual concern could be discussed later when the two sides feel more comfortable with each other.”

Still, the issues are particularly relevant now, since construction is underway on a 12.5-mile rail-and-road link through the demilitarized zone, which will reconnect a rail system that once linked the two regions of the peninsula. The South on Tuesday set aside $444.8 million for cooperative efforts with the North, most of it for the transportation projects.

In separate talks here, a visiting economic team from the North agreed that its government will guarantee protection of corporate investment and prevent double taxation at “an early date.” Few details were available, but the two countries agreed to continue discussions Oct. 18.

After the meeting, Lee Keun Kyun, who led the South’s economic delegation, said his government will announce a package of food aid for North Korea before the next round of talks.

The amount of aid the South is extending has brought cries from the opposition Grand National Party and others in recent days.

“When you give something, you expect something in return,” said Lee Ki Won, deputy director of the Institute of North Korean Studies think tank here, who says the North knows that it can squeeze more money from the South by taking baby steps in negotiations. “We’re giving too much carrot and not enough stick.”