Asia Times: O Paek, opaque: North Korea, not ARF that is


	July 25, 2001	atimes.com

The Koreas

PYONGYANG WATCH
O Paek, opaque: North Korea, not ARF that is
By Aidan Foster-Carter

The Asean Regional Forum (ARF) holds its annual meeting, this year in Hanoi. Founded in 1994, the ARF has swiftly become a valuable forum in a region short of formal multilateral structures - or architecture, in the jargon - bringing together as it does the core Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) members with a range of neighboring states and powers. The United States, China and Russia all belong; as do India, Mongolia and South Korea among others. And last year, North Korea joined to become the ARF's 23rd member.

So Foreign Minister Paek Nam-sun, who did the honors in Bangkok last year, was expected in Hanoi for the three-day meeting which began on Tuesday. But he won't be there. Too busy, apparently. (So much going on in Pyongyang, eh?) Instead, North Korea is sending a medium-rank counselor, Ho Chong. Protocol means this sidesteps any question of meeting US Secretary of State Colin Powell or Seoul's Foreign Minister Han Seung-soo, who had hoped for talks with Paek to help restart stalled dialogue. But evidently Pyongyang still prefers to act huffy.

This snub confirms some Asean states' doubts about letting North Korea join ARF at all. Pyongyang first put out feelers some years ago, but both sides were hesitant. Among Asean members, the Philippines was hostile: it had no relations with the DPRK, which it suspected of aiding Filipino rebel movements. For its part, North Korea failed to return the forms - drawing a rebuke from Singapore that ARF is a serious body and joining it a serious commitment. All this was overcome, but commitment remains an issue. Last year North Korea boycotted an ARF military working meeting as it was held in Seoul.

What of Pyongyang's bilateral ties in the Asean area? With most core members, these go back 20 years or more. The first and once closest relations were with Indonesia: the only country in the region that a top North Korean leader has ever visited, at least publicly. In 1965 Kim Il-sung picked up an honorary degree from Sukarno, who shared Kim's view of non-alignment. Under Suharto ties were chillier; yet Indonesia kept a large embassy in Pyongyang, de facto covering China with which it had severed ties.

Relations with other Asean powers followed in the 1970s, but have been largely low key. Singapore is a major trade partner, ranking 7th in the first half of last year - albeit with a volume of just US$22 million. The city state is also a preferred location for secret meetings, both business and political. By contrast, Kuala Lumpur has been one rather surprising venue - others include Berlin and New York - for North Korea's overt negotiations with the US, both on the nuclear issue and missiles. Malaysia's foreign minister was recently in Pyongyang, offering both political mediation and palm-oil on deferred terms.

Payment deferred is something they know all about in Bangkok. Thailand has been generous to a fault in keeping North Korea supplied with rice, despite hardly ever getting paid. Now owed $90 million, it is still mulling further credits. A wide range of other trade made Thailand the DPRK's fourth biggest trade partner last year; yet with imports far exceeding exports, payment may once again be an issue.

Thai generosity is the more remarkable given an incident that happened in 1999. A North Korean diplomat in Bangkok sought asylum with his wife and son. Pyongyang's reaction was to send a hit squad, which kidnapped the family from Thai police "protection" - and would have spirited them across the Lao border had not a car accident enabled them to escape. The Thai authorities were furious, but not for long. The DPRK thugs were eventually deported home rather than put on trial - and soon Bangkok was welcoming Paek Nam-sun. A forgiving people, the Thais. Unlike Koreans.

Incidents such as this make others hesitate to embrace North Korea. The Philippines finally took the plunge last year; Brunei had done so in 1999. But as mentioned in an earlier Pyongyang Watch (which also covered the DPRK's ties with Indo-China), Myanmar has yet to forgive the 1983 Yangon bomb atrocity. It wants North Korea to admit responsibility and apologize. But being Kim Jong-il means never having to say you are sorry. One hopes a recent resumption of contacts doesn't mean that the State Peace and Development Council is softening.

Finally, let's widen our gaze to Australasia. Both Australia and New Zealand have recently tied the knot with North Korea. For Wellington, this is a first foray, but with Canberra it's the second time around. Once again, the history is instructive. When Gough Whitlam recognized the DPRK back in 1974, this was a radical step for a Western government. You might think Kim Il-sung would have appreciated it. Instead, a year later the North Koreans mysteriously shut up shop and left, without giving notice; and then kicked out the two Australians in Pyongyang. One theory is that an Australian UN vote annoyed them. Even so, this is no way to behave. But Canberra, too, is forgiving: North Korean economists are already being trained in capitalism at the Australian National University, and four statisticians are off to crunch numbers in Sydney (who knows, they might even start publishing some). Yet we always seem to be making beginnings with Pyongyang, over and over again. Wouldn't it be nice, occasionally, to get past first base?

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