Former first lady Lee Hee-ho is scheduled to visit Pyongyang Aug. 5-8, an opportunity the government could use to engage North Korea.
Although her final itinerary has not been confirmed, Lee is expected to visit a child care center, a maternity hospital and a children’s hospital as well as Mount Myohyangsan, the purpose of her visit being to deliver medical supplies and goods for children. It is not yet known whether Lee will meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Lee is visiting the North in her capacity as the head of the Kim Dae Jung Peace Center, a foundation established in honor of her late husband President Kim Dae-jung, but the trip is more than a visit by a private individual — Lee holds symbolic significance as the late Kim’s spouse who accompanied him at a historic summit meeting with the late Kim Jong-il of North Korea in Pyongyang in 2000. In fact, the visit is being made at the invitation of Kim Jong-un, who extended an open invitation to visit Pyongyang when Lee attended his father’s funeral in 2011.
Coming at a time when relations between Seoul and Pyongyang are at a stalemate and as North Korea continues to threaten provocations, Lee’s trip could be an opportunity to find a breakthrough in inter-Korean relations.
Those skeptical about North Korea’s intentions — and the North does provide ample causes for such skepticisms — will find many things to question about Lee’s visit. For example, when North Korea offered to send a Koryo airliner for Lee, critics pointed out that Kim Jong-un intends to use it as a publicity stunt for the new international wing at Pyongyang’s Sunan Airport. Kim Dae Jung Peace Center, which is organizing the trip, declined the offer saying it would be more proper to fly a South Korean airliner.
The center will charter a plane from Eastar Jet, a low-cost carrier, to minimize costs. About 20 people, mostly from the Kim Dae Jung Peace Center, will fly with Lee, although the names have not been released. In fact, the center has repeatedly said that it will bear the costs of the trip, mindful of the critics who argue that the government should not pay for a trip being made in a private capacity.
The government, for its part, appears to be drawing a line between Lee’s upcoming trip and itself. Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo said during a Sunday television news show that Lee should not be considered a “special envoy” when she goes to Pyongyang in a personal capacity.
Lee may not have the title of a special envoy when she makes the North Korean trip, but it is hoped that her visit can bring about a breakthrough that is sorely needed. She is not expected to bring any message from Park Geun-hye, but her visit itself should be seen as a positive message for dialogue.
The trip is not a done deal until Lee has actually landed in Pyongyang. North Korea has already threatened to cancel the visit if South Korean authorities and media provoke the North, apparently in response to South Korean news reports that are critical of the upcoming visit. Earlier, Pyongyang abruptly canceled U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s visit to Gaeseong Industrial Complex just a day before the scheduled visit.
Despite the skepticism surrounding Lee’s Pyongyang trip, any kind of talk or engagement is better than none. If her visit can somehow serve as an opening in inter-Korean relations, then the government should take advantage of that window. Meanwhile, four South Koreans remain captive in North Korea. Perhaps the government can use Lee’s visit to hasten their release.
