korean unification studies

There are several events coming up that will demonstrate how strong both North and South Korea are committed to the Declaration on the Advancement of South-North Korean Relations, Peace and Prosperity, agreed to at the South-North Summit 2-4 October 2007.

First amongst these will be the working level talks between South and North Korean military officials to start Monday next week. The talks, at the colonel level, will work upon specifying the agenda for the forthcoming Ministerial talks to be held later in the year. The Declaration had called for the Ministerial talks to be held in November, however, controversy regarding the agenda within South Korea has delayed their commencement.

The South Korean side will be led by Army Colonel Moon Sung-Mook.  The North side will be led by Colonel Pak Rim-Su. The agenda for the talks will include arrangements for the Ministerial talks, the creation of a joint fishing area and peace zone in the West Sea, and military support of economic cooperation.

Military talks are going to be a good indication of how committed both sides are to the Declaration, given the more conservative inclination of those in the military service. Economic talks, which are led by the Ministry of Unification, generally display little variance from wider ROKG policy. However, military talks, where the influence of the Ministry of Unification is greatly reduced, could be expected to demonstrate a greater degree of variance from official ROKG policy – particularly due to the fact that one of the agenda items is so critical to Ministry of Defense interests.

The talks will be held at Tongilgak, the administrative building on the North Korean side of Panmunjom. One aspect that I am particularly looking forward to, is the now expected and much anticipated North Korean joke before formal talks begin!