Korean hopes and fears

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33058, 27 October 1972, Page 12

Korean hopes and fears

Initiated by the Red Cross groups on either side of the 38th Parallel, the talks on the reunification of the Korean peninsula are due to enter their fourth round in Seoul on November 22. Until the recent declaration of martial law in the South the talks had been making encouraging progress. President Park says that martial law is necessary to suppress demonstrations of dissent which would prejudice the success of the next round of talks. He may honestly hold this view; but the cynical interpretation—that he has taken the step merely to consolidate his own power—is gaining ground. To the Western observer, at least, President Park seems to be prepared to abrogate the practice of democracy as callously as President Thieu or Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew. President Park’s declaration has been followed by North Korean complaints against the South of continuing anti-Communist activity in breach of earlier declarations of nolitical tolerance between the two regimes. The North is justifiably suspicious that Communist representation in the South after reunification might be withheld, and that President Park might use the Army to bolster his regime. It would not be surprising if the North sought a postponement of the next round of talks, or at least insisted that anv agreement reached in that round should be conditional on the prompt removal of martial law and the resumption of democratic processes. “As a homogeneous people, a great “ national unity shall be sought above all. transcend- '* ing differences in ideas, ideologies, and systems ”. This grandiose declaration by the leaders of North and South Korea in July now looks premature: yet it undoubtedlv represents the aspirations of the majority of Koreans north and south of the 38th Parallel.