It's imperative to break though inter-Korean impasse



President Park Geun-hye presided over an inaugural meeting of the Presidential Committee for Unification Preparation, Thursday, as a first step to turn her unification blueprint into a reality.



During the meeting, she showed her unswerving determination to achieve unification, calling it the ultimate goal to heal the decades-long pain of the divided Koreas. It's quite significant that figures from both the public and private sectors and those from the ruling and opposition parties gathered to discuss unification.



During the talks, Park called for inter-Korean efforts to build infrastructure in North Korea, and the participants agreed to create a charter for unification and present a win-win economic growth model.



Park's remarks sound empty though, given the current stalemate. Two years into Park's five-year term, there has been little progress in inter-Korean relations. Of course, North Korea should bear a greater share of responsibility for the deadlock, but it's also questionable if the Park administration has done all that it could.



As the international community sits idle, the reclusive North has been accelerating its missile and nuclear weapons programs. In fact, the U.S.-based Institute for Science and International Security said on Thursday that North Korea seems to be stepping up the construction and development of key facilities at its Yongbyon nuclear research center in a report based on satellite analysis.



So it's imperative to break through the current impasse.



Things are not bad. Pope Francis could preach a sermon wishing for peace on the Korean Peninsula during his Aug. 14-18 visit to South Korea, and the North will likely take part in the Incheon Asian Games in September. Moreover, there is enough room for boosting the discourse on unification because no major election is scheduled until the general elections in 2016.



What's needed first is our efforts to clear out North Korea's doubt about Park's string of unification initiatives ― the Korean Peninsula trust-building process, her "unification is bonanza" remarks and the Dresden Declaration. Park told Thursday's meeting that her initiatives were intended to lay the groundwork for peaceful unification and not aimed at isolating North Korea. But, Seoul needs to do far more to ease Pyongyang's anxieties.



Park's unification blueprint is assessed to be more forward-looking than that drawn up by the previous Lee Myung-bak administration, but the two are practically the same given that the North is asked to show sincerity first as far as nuclear weapons are concerned.



Now it's high time for the South to drop its rigidity on such issues as the May 24 sanctions ― imposed on the North following the sinking of a South Korean warship by a North Korean torpedo in 2010 ― and be more flexible.



Inter-Korean talks on the Incheon Asiad can be a case in point. While it's necessary to abide by principles, there's no need for Seoul to tussle over trifles excessively. Hopefully, President Park will come up with measures that will lead to a breakthrough in the inter-Korean impasse.



