In businesslike presummit negotiations, both Koreas seemed to sense that the chance to reach out to each other is perishable. “If we don’t make this happen now, we may lose it,” said a senior South Korean official. For the South, the symbolism of the meeting is probably more important than the substance. But Kim Young Sam will insist dutifully on discussing the North’s nuclear program. His aides say he will demand that Pyongyang agree to mutual inspections verifying a 1991 North-South agreement to keep nuclear weapons off the Korean peninsula. The South Koreans promise to coordinate their position with the United States, which this week resumes high-level talks with North Korea on its nuclear program.
For Kim Il Sung, the summit offers a tempting array of options. He can use it to buy time for his bomb-building program. Or he can trade nuclear concessions for diplomatic and economic openings to South Korea and the West. The dirt-poor North would benefit greatly from investment by South Korean companies eager to tap into its cheap, disciplined work force.
At the moment, talking to Kim Il Sung is the only real option for Washington and Seoul. Jimmy Carter’s peacemaking visit to Pyongyang last month eliminated any chance that the United Nations will impose economic sanctions on North Korea in the short term. China and South Korea are determined to avoid any confrontation with Kim Il Sung, and Japan’s new government is even less gung-ho for a crackdown on the dictator than its predecessor was. “I have no illusions about the North Koreans,” Secretary of State Warren Christopher said last week. “I have no illusions about the possibility that this may be a delaying tactic.” The only available antidote, he added, is to be both hopeful and wary.
