Seoul (AsiaNews/Agencies) - In a climate of growing tension over the resumption of the nuclear program and long-range missile testing, international diplomacy is at work to restore communication with North Korea.
This morning, a meeting took place in Panmujom, in the demilitarized zone on the border between the two Koreas. The military leaders of both countries took part in the meeting, the first since the election of Lee Myung Bak as president of South Korea, a factor that has contributed to the deterioration of the little progress between the two countries. Seoul and Pyongyang are still formally at war, since no peace agreement has been signed since the end of the Korean War (1950-53).
The meeting lasted for 90 minutes, and ended shortly before noon local time. The topics addressed include the application of agreements made in the past over "defense systems", but neither of the two sides wanted to make any official statements about the outcome of the talks.
In recent weeks, the climate of tension in the peninsula has reached alarming levels: North Korea has announced that it intends to resume its nuclear program, breaking the seals on the reactor in Yongbyon. At the same time, it has undertaken a project to reinforce the missile base on the eastern coast of the country, where it will test an elaborated version of the Taepodong-2, which, according to some military experts, is capable of striking targets 10,000 kilometers away. This is a potential threat to stability in the region, because such a missile could not only reach Japan, but - on paper - could also strike the west coast of the United States.
The president of South Korea responded by launching an alert among military officials, asking everyone to "be ready to face new threats, from whatever direction they may come". In a speech on state television, Lee emphasized that "if the enemy tries to invade us", the country is ready to "win" the contest, and that in order to do this, "a strong military force" is necessary.
Worrying signs of war are coming from the Korean Peninsula, in consequence of which U.S. envoy Christopher Hill has decided to prolonged by one day his talks with Pyongyang's leadership. He will leave tomorrow to Beijing, the next stop on his official visit. The chief United States negotiator on North Korea's nuclear program - which also includes South Korea, China, Japan, and Russia - is seeking to reestablish relations with his Korean counterpart, and to revitalize the program of "aid for disarmament".