The fact that the representatives from South and North Korea sat across the table from each other for nearly five hours without storming out in a huff is an encouraging sign that the North is serious about engaging with the South.
Although the first high-level military talks in seven years, held behind closed doors, did not yield tangible results, the mere fact that the two sides sat down for talks bodes well for the next round of high-level inter-Korean talks.
The high-level military talks, proposed by the North to discuss the recent exchange of fire between South Korean and North Korean patrol boats, was attended by Deputy Minister for National Defense Policy Ryu Je-seung and Kim Yong-chol, the head of North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau. Kim is thought to be the man behind the May 2010 torpedo attack on a South Korean naval vessel, which claimed 46 Korean lives. Pyongyang denies any involvement in the sinking.
The two sides, despite the serious talks, failed to narrow their differences, and the meeting ended without any meaningful agreement, according to the Defense Ministry.
What has now become a typical agenda was raised again on Wednesday.
North Korea demanded that South Korean ships abide by what it claims to be the inter-Korean maritime border ― drawn farther south of the Northern Limit Line established by the U.S.-led United Nations Command at the end of the Korean War and considered a de facto sea border. It demanded that civic groups in the South stop sending balloons containing anti-North Korean leaflets across the border. North Korean representatives also asked the South to refrain from slandering the North, including slander by the press.
South Korea reiterated its call on North Korea to abide by the NLL and explained that, in a free democracy, the government could not control civic groups or the media.
The recent events surrounding North Korea ― a surprise visit by the top ranking North Koreans to Incheon and their offer to hold a second round of high-level talks, followed by an exchange of fire in the disputed sea border on the Yellow Sea, and then an exchange of fire on the border last Friday after the North fired antiaircraft guns at leaflet-containing balloons ― show that the North is as unpredictable as ever.
Seoul has offered to hold the second round of high-level talks on Oct. 30 at the truce village of Panmunjeom. A reunion of separated families and other pending matters, including the May 2010 sanctions that Pyongyang wants to see lifted, could be discussed at the talks. It is hoped that the next round of talks will yield tangible results and lead to improved inter-Korean relations.
