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Two Koreas Need to Slow Down Border Opening Even After Unification - German Ambassador Vollers
Korea Times
June 22, 2000
By Son Key-young, Staff ReporterSouth and North Korea don't necessarily have to open the border even after they succeeded in creating a confederation or reach an agreement on an another form of unification, German Ambassador Claus Vollers said.
During an interview with The Korea Times, the German envoy also said that Seoul needs to strengthen policy coordination with Washington and Tokyo, because the United States, for example, has a ``legitimate'' interest in security issues on the Korean peninsula, including the status of U.S. forces stationed in South Korea.
``I think you don't necessarily have to open the border immediately, like we did. If you like to have two different states, slowly you can give aid and build infrastructure,'' he said.
By controlling the border and the process of unification, the two Koreas would be able to reduce the unification costs, he said. ``You can limit this cost to the level you are prepared to pay,'' he added.
Citing the China-Hong Kong case, the ambassador said they have a border control in place, even though they are part of the same country.
``This depends on the circumstances you create. You can do it in an inexpensive way. You can do it in an expensive way. There is no uniform picture on how to do it,'' he said.
Even in Germany's case, the ambassador said that it would additionally take 15 years before the two Germanys could achieve the same economic level. ``You can do it gradually for your country. You don't have to do it in a German way,'' he added.
The June 13-15 inter-Korean summit, which created a five-point joint declaration, was a ``pleasant surprise'' even to the German ambassador. When the two Germanys held their first summit talks in 1970, no notable agreement was produced at that time.
With regard to the section of the agreement referring to the two Koreas' unification formulas, the ambassador said, ``It is not a question of mixing the two systems, but it is a question of living together side by side as much as possible.''
In the German case, the ambassador said the two Germanys shared the view before unification that both sides were not prepared to give up their own political and economic systems.
``We were not prepared to accept a semi-communist system. I have the impression that they (the two Koreas) are not prepared to accept a semi-communist system,'' he said.
The ambassador said it is necessary for the two Koreas to establish a special relationship, which could guarantee that they are not ``deadly enemies any more.''
``Whether you call it a confederation or not, it means a special relationship between the two states. How this will be detailed will take a long time to argue and find out,'' he said.
Meanwhile, the ambassador expressed concerns over the fact that the inter-Korean declaration did not mention security issues.
``One of the reasons why security was not officially treated at the summit is because it is too complicated and too many countries are involved,'' he noted.
In particular, the ambassador emphasized that the United States has the ``first-line interests'' on security-related issues in this region.
``Mrs. (Madeleine) Albright is not coming for nothing in a few days. They have legitimate interests in this. It is only fair to deal with these issues with allies,'' he said.
The ambassador noted that North Koreans had raised the U.S. troop issue in the past whenever they wanted to torpedo dialogue.
However, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, who visited Beijing just before the inter-Korean summit, may have had a second thought on the issue, because Chinese leaders may have told Kim about the role of U.S. troops from various perspectives.
The ambassador further noted that, with U.S. troops stationed here, the two Koreas are able to work out an agreement on the reduction of troops between them.
``North Korea has always tried to play its partners one against the other. They will not stop that,'' the ambassador said, adding that South Korea should maintain close coordination with the United States and Japan.
``If those in Pyongyang notice it is a close coordination, they cannot play one against the other. They have slightly different interests, but they can coordinate as allies,'' he said.
However, the ambassador stressed that they should work in order not to give the impression to North Korea that it is isolated.
``If South Korea is obviously in tune with all four powers, North Korea might feel isolated. If they don't feel self-confident, they will not go on. They need encouragement to go on. They need a friendly environment, not an aggressive environment,'' he said.
With regards to the economic perspectives of inter-Korean rapprochement, the ambassador said the summit has brightened the possibility of linking the railroads from Pusan, the southern tip of South Korea, to Oslo, the northern tip of Europe, across the vast Eurasian continent.
``When we started talking about this at the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), we talked in theory we could have a railroad from Pusan to Oslo. At that time, of course, we could not do it because North Korea is in-between,'' he said.
Ambassador Vollers is set to leave Korea on July 1, wrapping up his five-year service here.
``I had the most interesting times _ the economic crisis and the following fast recovery. North-South Korea relations have always been at the forefront. Now, they take a new start. I really liked it very much. I am sorry to leave. It was a very good time for me. Ultimately, I hope Korea will be united some day,'' he said.
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