[코리아헤럴드]Alternative sought for sunshine approach
- 운영자
- 2007-02-06 14:34:07
Alternative sought for sunshine approach
A group of scholars called on the South Korean government to discard its Sunshine Policy and adopt stricter policy principles toward North Korea, in a press conference yesterday.
"The government's policy for North Korea has also badly affected the North's nuclear problem. So far, the government has sugarcoated North Korea's nuclear development as a negotiating tool and spread the theory that the blame lies in the United States' lack of acquiesce," Park Se-il, chairman of the Hansun Foundation for Freedom and Prosperity, said in an opening speech.
Also speaking at the conference were North Korean studies professor Nam Sung-wook of Korea University and professor Kim Il-young of Sungkyunkwan University.
The government was wrong in saying that the Sunshine Policy was the only way to safeguard peace, that a hard-line policy would only prompt war and that North Korea's nuclear weapons are aimed at the United States and not South Korea, the foundation argued.
It also criticized the government's view that bilateral talks between the United States and North Korea are the only way to resolve the nuclear issue.
"The new North Korean policy paradigm in the 21st century must focus on transforming the communist regime into a normal state and pursue unification based on freedom and democracy to improve the quality of life of North Koreans," Park said.
He said that the Unification Ministry should be downscaled into the "Office of Inter-Korean Cooperation" and called on lawmakers to stop using the North Korean issue in their politicking.
The government should also apply stringent reciprocity in inter-Korean relations and enhance cooperation with the international community based on national consensus, he said.
The foundation called on the United States to restore close cooperation with Seoul and delay the transfer of wartime operational control. It said China should not be complacent with the status quo and instead use all leverage to resolve the nuclear issue.
The foundation also called on Japan to "stop seeking to become a military power."
By Lee Joo-hee