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EU Leaders' Visit to DPRK Marks Closer Ties
A top-level delegation from the European Union (EU) arrives in Pyongyang on Tuesday for a visit that observers say is of special significance to the reconciliation process on the Korean Peninsula as well as the bilateral relations.
It is the highest level delegation the West is ever sending to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), which includes Swedish Prime Minister Goran Persson, whose country holds the EU's current rotating presidency, EU foreign policy and security chief Javier Solana and EU external Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten.
The very fact the EU delegation comes to Pyongyang is a manifestation of a major achievement of the all-round diplomacy pursued by the DPRK, observers said.
The visit is of special significance to the development of relations between the EU and the DPRK and to the reconciliation process on the Korean Peninsula, they said.
There were almost no diplomatic contacts between the two sides during the Cold War, when many EU countries followed hostile policies toward the DPRK. For the past few years, the DPRK has made improvement of its relations with the EU and its member states a priority in its diplomacy, sending envoys to EU capitals to express Pyongyang's willingness to foster friendly relations with those Western countries that are friendly to it.
In December 1998, the DPRK set up political dialogue with the EU, laying the foundation for the establishment of political and economic relations between them.
The DPRK's diplomatic initiative has borne fruits. Since January 2000, seven EU nations, including Italy, Britain, Germany, and Spain, have established diplomatic relations with the DPRK, bringing to 13 the number of EU countries that maintain diplomatic ties with Pyongyang. The DPRK's efforts to improve relations with the EU have also created favorable conditions for bilateral cooperation.
The DPRK, beset with economic difficulties in recent years and faced with the sanctions imposed by the United States, has been keen for a peaceful external environment and good relations with other countries in order to revive its economy and make the country
stronger.
Warmer ties between the DPRK and the EU are helpful to the reconciliation process on the Korean Peninsula. The DPRK will also benefit from improved relations with the EU in its efforts to break the international embargo, attract more investment and expand its foreign trade.
In a recent speech at the Supreme People's Assembly, DPRK Premier Hong Song Nam reiterated the government's willingness to develop relations with Western countries that are friendly to the DPRK. Hong's speech showed that it has become the DPRK's long-term policy to develop relations with the EU and its member nations.
For the EU, to develop ties with the DPRK is in keeping with its political and economic interests as well as its Asia-Pacific strategy. The bloc has all along stood for a multipolar world and held different views from the Americans on many major issues.
The EU has an upbeat assessment of the Asia-Pacific's outlook and spared no efforts to develop political and economic ties with countries in the region, believing that reconciliation and long- term stability on the Korean Peninsula, an important factor in the maintenance of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific as a whole, serve the bloc's own interests.
Welcoming the inter-Korean summit and eager to keep the momentum of dialogue and reconciliation on the peninsula, the EU is sending the top-level mission to Pyongyang at a time when the Bush administration toughens its policy towards the DPRK, causing the U.S.-DPRK ties to turn sour. It shows the EU has displayed a certain degree of independence and flexibility in its diplomacy, and reflects its eagerness to play a role in the efforts to resolve the Inter-Korean
issues.
The development of relations with the DPRK can also bring the EU new and potential commercial benefits. While annual bilateral trade currently stands at only 300 million U.S. dollars, the DPRK is seen as a huge potential market where the EU could gain an advantage over others in terms of investment and trade when the right moment comes.
Nevertheless, the two sides remain far apart on such issues as human rights and the missile program. But the visit itself and the dialogue between the two sides on these issues represent a significant step forward in bilateral relations.
The improved relations between the DPRK and the EU will play a positive role in enhancing the trend of multipolarity and maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and the Asia-Pacific as a whole, the observers said.
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