Three days of high-level talks between North and South Korea yielded little that could be called progress toward resolving the nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula. That is not surprising. The North has maintained all along that the nuclear issue is a question to be settled between itself and the United States. Indeed, Pyongyang considers Seoul a mere extension of the U.S. government, except when it needs handouts. The North's refusal to deal with South Korea as an equal ensures that the inter-Korean dialogue will remain fitful and frustrating.
There were hopes of a breakthrough in the North Korean impasse after last week's meeting between South Korean Unification Minister Chung Dong Young and North Korea's supreme leader Kim Jong Il, the first high-level contact between the two governments in 10 months. At that meeting, Mr. Kim said his country was ready to return to the six-party talks -- which have not convened for a year -- if the U.S. would recognize and respect North Korea. Mr. Kim also reportedly offered to give up his missile programs if Washington would normalize relations between the two countries. South Korea's offer of a massive "Marshall Aid"-type assistance package to the North was another inducement to return to negotiations.
Yet the talks in Seoul were more frustrating than fruitful. In the 12-point statement released at the end of the visit, the two Koreas merely agreed to resolve the nuclear crisis peacefully through dialogue, but no date was set for the next round of negotiations. Instead, they pledged "substantial actions" when there is the "right atmosphere" for success.