[Editorial] North and South need to meet for face-to-face discussions regarding Mt. Kumgang

An image of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting tourist facilities at Mt. Kumgang released by the Korean Central News Agency on Oct. 23. (Yonhap News)

An image of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspecting tourist facilities at Mt. Kumgang released by the Korean Central News Agency on Oct. 23. (Yonhap News)

North Korea sent a message to South Korean authorities on Oct. 25 officially requesting discussions on the possible demolition of South Korean facilities at Mt. Kumgang. This came two days after leader Kim Jong-un’s order to have the facilities torn down. Pyongyang’s actions strongly suggest they are in some kind of hurry. South Korean President Moon Jae-in declared the same day at the Blue House that the building’s demolition “could conflict with the public’s sentiments and damage inter-Korean relations.” Indeed, there is a risk of inter-Korean relations suffering irreversible damage if the demolition actually goes ahead without any alternatives presented.

In response to North Korea’s message, the South Korean government said it would “adequately consider the changed environment and work on developing creative solutions.” It seems to be viewing North Korea’s demolition announcement as an aggressive way of pressing Seoul to work harder for the tourism resort’s reopening, and the current situation as an opportunity to make headway on that reopening. But the key thing here isn’t “solutions” -- it’s implementation. Seoul has stated numerous times that it would come up with “creative solutions” to address the strain in inter-Korean relations, but it has achieved little in the way of practical results. It’s going to need to harness all its wisdom now to achieve a breakthrough in the situation.

It is obvious enough that South and North Korea should be meeting and working together to find countermeasures. But the North proposed holding discussions through the exchange of documents. That sort of indirect method makes it impossible to have in-depth conversations or to identify some third approach that benefits both sides. Seoul will need to push hard for a face-to-face discussion instead.

In the Pyongyang Joint Declaration in September 2018, South and North Korea agreed to resume tourism at Mt. Kumgang as soon as the conditions were in place. In his New Year’s address this year, Kim Jong-un called for resuming Mt. Kumgang tourism “without any precondition.” But tourism has not resumed because of international sanctions barring it. The only ways to get tourism restarted at Mt. Kumgang are either to find a new approach that doesn’t involve violating sanctions or to find some way through the sanctions themselves.

North Korea has been denouncing the “hostile policies” of the US, first in a statement by Kim Kye-gwan, advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and then in another on Oct. 27 by Workers’ Party of Korea Vice Chairman Kim Yong-chol. Nobody can claim Kim Jong-un’s demolition order has nothing to do with the current impasse in North Korea-US negotiations. Under the circumstances, a resumption of tourism at Mt. Kumgang would certainly grease the wheels for progress in those talks. The South Korean government needs to come up with some bold ideas that go beyond its current framework -- turning the “Mt. Kumgang problem” unfolding in North Korea into an opportunity for some major shifts in inter-Korean and North Korea-US relations.

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