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(Yonhap Editorial) Will Carter's visit bring a thaw in Pyongyang-Washington relations?
SEOUL, Aug. 25 (Yonhap) -- Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter arrived in Pyongyang Wednesday on a mission to win the release of an American citizen. North Korea's official media reported that Carter and his party were greeted at the airport by the country's vice foreign minister Kim Kye Gwan.
Although his visit is categorized as private and unofficial, it is attracting keen attention from the international community as to whether it will lead to a breakthrough to the stalled U.S.-North Korean relations. Carter is expected to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-il during his stay in Pyongyang. If the meeting goes as planned, the Nobel Peace Prize winner may play a role as a messenger between the top leaders of the two sides as he did 16 years ago.
In 1994, when the U.S. came close to war with North Korea over its nuclear program, Carter sat down with then-North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung and produced an agreement that resolved the first North Korean nuclear crisis.
It is unlikely that Carter's visit will bring forth an immediate breakthrough, considering the strained relations following Pyongyang's nuclear test last year and the sinking of a South Korean naval ship in March blamed on North Korea.
It will, however, be helpful to a create favorable atmosphere for the resumption of dialogue and may bring forth changes in the situation on the Korean Peninsula. The government should be well prepared to the possible changes.
We also expect that Carter's visit will contribute to the repatriation of South Korean fishing boat Daesung 55 and its crew detained in North Korea for 17 days. Pyongyang claimed the ship trespassed into its exclusive economic zone.
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