Harbinger of engagement in Korea

The march of North and South Korean athletes together behind a blue-and-white “unification” flag at the opening of the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics was “an emotionally charged moment, which sends a powerful signal that peace, though it may be difficult, elusive, and distant, is not impossible between the two countries.”

Words of hope and admiration spoken by former Speaker Jose de Venecia, founding chair of the International Conference of Asian Political Parties, chairman emeritus of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF), and Special Envoy of President Duterte to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) for Intercultural Dialogue. He was speaking at the UPF International Leadership Conference 2018 held in Seoul at the time of the Winter Olympics. Conference theme was “Building a World of Lasting Peace: Interdependence, Mutual Prosperity and Universal Values.”

The delegates applauded Pyongyang’s leader Kim Jong-Un for sending a high-level delegation, including his sister, Kim Yo Jong, to the Pyeongchang Olympics and “for perhaps creating the beginnings of the Seoul-Pyongyang informal or formal talks,” said De Venecia. They also commended South Korean President Moon Jae-in “for his vision, leadership and initiative in carving out a new path to signal better relations between the two Koreas.”

“We hope that the North and South Korea display of unity at the Pyeongchang Olympics will be built upon and serve as harbinger of a new chapter in political and economic engagement in the Korean Peninsula, and, to quote President Moon Jae-in, ‘a precious starting point for a step toward world peace,’” he said.

In Northeast Asia today, he told delegates, there is “need to develop pragmatic and creative methods that will try to rebuild North-South relations in the Korean Peninsula – without hopefully allowing too many of the ideological differences to get in the way.”

 He recalled that in 1990, as then acting chair of the House committee on foreign relations, he visited Pyongyang in an informal pioneering effort to try to open Philippine diplomatic relations with North Korea, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) – to try to discourage it at the time from giving material and moral support to guerrillas of the Communist New People’s Army (NPA) in the Philippines.

At a time when Pyongyang itself was also trying to broaden its East Asian friendships, he met with the North Korean leader, President Kim Il Sung, at his mountain villa north of Pyongyang. “President Kim II Sung, said  ‘Conflict would only cause ‘mutual destruction’ in both North and South Korea that neither side could afford to suffer. In no uncertain terms, he told me, ‘If we attack the South, the South will be destroyed. But we in the North will also be destroyed.’”

“Thus, when today Pyongyang, with leader Kim Jong-Un, his grandson, and previously his son, Kim Jong-Il, rattle the sounds of war in the Korean Peninsula, I remember those words of practical wisdom from the late Kim Il Sung.”

Most importantly, Kim Il Sung promised and indeed put in writing that North Korea would not give aid and comfort to Filipino NPA guerrillas – who had, by then, been fighting to overthrow the Philippine state for more than two decades. A few weeks later, the president sent his deputy premier Kim Dahl Hyun to finalize the agreement with then Foreign Affairs Secretary Raul Manglapus, which expeditiously resulted in diplomatic relations between Manila and Pyongyang.”

That was the most successful result of Speaker de Venecia and his delegation’s trip to North Korea.

The speaker turned over to then President Corazon Aquino, the “priceless North Korean document” committing the North Korean government not to give aid and comfort to the insurgent Philippine New People’s Army. “Through thick and thin, that agreement has kept our two states friendly and cooperative until now.”

“We must point out that despite the occasional harsh rhetoric on both sides of the 38th Parallel, I believe governments, parliaments, political parties, civil society organizations, and religious groups must encourage and support direct talks between Seoul and Pyongyang.

“As we know in past years, direct talks re-started some years ago between Washington and Pyongyang – in New York and Geneva, but had not met with success.

“Indeed, direct talks between North and South will complement these high-level explorations. Perhaps they could even catalyze the long-suspended Six-Party Talks to prevent nuclear proliferation in the Korean Peninsula. Perhaps direct bilateral or multilateral talks could even lead to agreement on a road map to eventual unification. But these talks have not been reopened for a long time now.

“Today the basic fact is that the distribution of power in the world is fast-changing–particularly in East Asia–and the Korean Peninsula must adapt to these epochal transformations.” 

“Perhaps the two Koreas should begin with some degree of economic cooperation. And the obvious way which of course should not take too much time for Pyongyang to be invited to associate itself with the East Asian Economic Grouping of the 10 Southeast Asian states and the three Northeast Asian states – China, Japan and South Korea. The ASEAN Plus 3 could become ASEAN Plus 4. This should not be a long process and the idea should be shared with Pyongyang sooner than later. 

In De Venecia’s view, the immediate task of the parliaments and mainstream political parties of the Republic of Korea and the Communist Korean Workers’ Party (KWP) of the North, aided by the parliaments, political parties, civil society, and business leaders of the global community, is to draw up a clear, distinct and workable road map toward unification. 

Political parties and civil society organizations should network with the leading think-tanks of Asia, U.S., and Europe to envision the architecture of Korean confederation and unification, actively revive Seoul’s Kim Dae Jung “Sunshine Policy”, promote a bipartisan approach among the major parties of the South, and draw on South Korea’s vaunted economic power, to help build the economy of the North under an economic and political Confederation of Korean Unity.

The Asian, European, African, Latin American, Australian, and US parliaments could organize a program and send delegations to the North Korea legislature, their ministers of agriculture and tourism might interact with their North Korean counterparts to look into the recurring causes of famine in the North and to develop jobs-creating and foreign exchange-earning tourism there. 

The great Chinese, Russian, and Western industries can look into North Korea’s hydrocarbons, mining, and hydro-electric potential. 

The lingering conflict and potentially dangerous flashpoint in the Korean Peninsula with North Korea, now nuclear-armed and continuously testing improved nuclear weaponry, and perhaps even the potential of missiles launched from submarines, could be resolved peacefully through diplomacy, cooperation and bilateral and/or multilateral dialogue. No matter how most difficult, it must be constantly tried and pursued, and we claim its eventual success, for the sake of the two Koreas, Asia, and the world.

De Venecia urged the revival of the long-postponed Six-Party talks among the US, Russia, China, Japan, South Korea, and North Korea and even better sustained direct talks between North and South that would directly contribute to enhancing political stability and security not only in the Korean Peninsula but in the Asia Pacific region, but most importantly lead to unite the two Koreas, forswear war, and together build a strong, united prosperous first-world nation for the Korean peoples in the second or third decade of the 21st Century. 

“Perhaps, the successful dynamics of North Korea’s nuclear development could be channeled to economic mobilization.

“And the Six-Nation Talks could have a business-focused auxiliary to develop economic joint-ventures for deployment in the Korean north.”

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