Back to 6-party talks
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has called for an early resumption of the stalled six-party talks. According to Xinhua News Agency, Kim expressed his view that “the six-party talks should be resumed at an early date” during his summit with Chinese President Hu Jintao in Beijing on Wednesday.
Kim, who returned home Friday wrapping up his eight-day visit to China, was also quoted as saying that “the North, as always, sincerely hopes relations between the two Koreas could be improved.”
Kim’s positive stance on resuming the multilateral talks is welcome. His conciliatory gesture toward the South is also encouraging. Yet we should not read too much into his words. What matters is, after all, not nice words but specific deeds.
The North Korean leader was expected to express a willingness to restart the six-nation talks during this trip to China, his third in a year. His visit was focused on obtaining urgently needed economic aid and securing Chinese leaders’ support for his heir and third son, Jong-un. To get what he wanted, Kim was expected to offer in return what China wanted from him ― getting the six-party process rolling again.
To reopen the six-nation talks, however, the North should first talk with the South, as China proposed earlier this year a three-step formula: inter-Korean talks, Pyongyang-Washington talks, then six-party talks.
Under this plan, Seoul proposed inter-Korean talks in January. Therefore, the next step the North should take, if it is committed to reactivating the six-party process, is to respond to Seoul’s offer for bilateral talks. And it needs to remember that it still owes the South an apology for the cruelties it committed last year.
Pyongyang has long sought bilateral talks with Washington. But it cannot move to that stage if it fails to convince Seoul that it is serious about dismantling its nuclear programs.
If Kim thinks that he would be able to have Washington and Seoul resume economic and food aid to the North by simply restarting the six-way process, he is totally mistaken. The two allies have declared they would never buy the same horse twice.
While restarting the six-party talks is necessary, it means little unless North Korea shows a genuine commitment to denuclearization. This means Kim needs to make a strategic decision on the North’s nuclear programs before coming to the dialogue table.
Given the worsening economic and political problems in the North, Kim needs to make a choice between the two options without further delay ― receiving full-fledged support from the international community by giving up on nuclear weapons or face regime collapse under the weight of economic difficulties and political instability.
Kim may think that he would be able to overcome economic problems by strengthening cooperation with China. But his strategy of establishing small free economic zones at border areas would not work because the North Korean economy needs reform from the ground up.
Kim, who returned home Friday wrapping up his eight-day visit to China, was also quoted as saying that “the North, as always, sincerely hopes relations between the two Koreas could be improved.”
Kim’s positive stance on resuming the multilateral talks is welcome. His conciliatory gesture toward the South is also encouraging. Yet we should not read too much into his words. What matters is, after all, not nice words but specific deeds.
The North Korean leader was expected to express a willingness to restart the six-nation talks during this trip to China, his third in a year. His visit was focused on obtaining urgently needed economic aid and securing Chinese leaders’ support for his heir and third son, Jong-un. To get what he wanted, Kim was expected to offer in return what China wanted from him ― getting the six-party process rolling again.
To reopen the six-nation talks, however, the North should first talk with the South, as China proposed earlier this year a three-step formula: inter-Korean talks, Pyongyang-Washington talks, then six-party talks.
Under this plan, Seoul proposed inter-Korean talks in January. Therefore, the next step the North should take, if it is committed to reactivating the six-party process, is to respond to Seoul’s offer for bilateral talks. And it needs to remember that it still owes the South an apology for the cruelties it committed last year.
Pyongyang has long sought bilateral talks with Washington. But it cannot move to that stage if it fails to convince Seoul that it is serious about dismantling its nuclear programs.
If Kim thinks that he would be able to have Washington and Seoul resume economic and food aid to the North by simply restarting the six-way process, he is totally mistaken. The two allies have declared they would never buy the same horse twice.
While restarting the six-party talks is necessary, it means little unless North Korea shows a genuine commitment to denuclearization. This means Kim needs to make a strategic decision on the North’s nuclear programs before coming to the dialogue table.
Given the worsening economic and political problems in the North, Kim needs to make a choice between the two options without further delay ― receiving full-fledged support from the international community by giving up on nuclear weapons or face regime collapse under the weight of economic difficulties and political instability.
Kim may think that he would be able to overcome economic problems by strengthening cooperation with China. But his strategy of establishing small free economic zones at border areas would not work because the North Korean economy needs reform from the ground up.
Match-fixing scams
Prosecutors in the southern city of Changwon are expanding their investigation into the nation’s first match-fixing scandal involving K-League professional soccer players. They have already arrested two gambling brokers on charges of bribing two active players in their bid to rig match results and win Sportstoto lotteries.
The brokers allegedly gave 120 million won to a goalkeeper of a K-League club and 100 million won to a midfielder of another team. Investigators said the goalie appeared in four Rush & Cash Cup games between March 16 and May 11 and allowed 11 goals, contributing to his team’s defeat in three matches.
The midfielder played in one K-League Cup game during the period, in which he committed four fouls before being replaced in the second half. His team lost that match.
Prosecutors are questioning eight more players for their possible collusion with the bribed two. Shockingly, among the investigated players is Kim Dong-hyun, 27, a former striker for the Korean national squad who now plays for Sangmu or the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corp.
The scam came as a big surprise to many soccer fans as it is the first of its kind in the K-League since its launch 28 years ago. However, rumors of match-fixing in pro soccer have circulated since 2008 when police arrested 23 brokers and players from the semi-professional K2 League and the amateur K3 League for rigging games.
According to reports, some K-League clubs identified players who had contacted gambling brokers. But they stopped short of bringing the cases to light, choosing instead to either cover them up or transfer the players to other teams. If these reports are true, the clubs deserve criticism for their lack of courage in confronting a festering problem.
Prosecutors need to investigate these allegations and root out any corrupt element in the K-League. They also need to crack down on operators of illegal online sports betting sites who could be tempted to manipulate match results to make undue gains.
According to reports, there are currently some 500 to 1,000 illegal sites in operation, with many making millions of dollars a year. Their annual turnover is estimated at 4 trillion won. These sites attract people because they allow them to make unlimited bets, as opposed to the 100,000 won limit for tickets issued by Sportstoto, the only company in Korea licensed to engage in the sports betting business.
Clamping down on these illegal sites is not easy because they operate their servers abroad. But letting them continue to operate is leaving professional players of soccer and other popular sports exposed to game-rigging temptations.
Match-fixing makes a mockery of the efforts honest players make to win games. It is also an affront to all sports fans. The standard of Korean soccer and other sports cannot be elevated without terminating attempts to manipulate game outcomes.
The brokers allegedly gave 120 million won to a goalkeeper of a K-League club and 100 million won to a midfielder of another team. Investigators said the goalie appeared in four Rush & Cash Cup games between March 16 and May 11 and allowed 11 goals, contributing to his team’s defeat in three matches.
The midfielder played in one K-League Cup game during the period, in which he committed four fouls before being replaced in the second half. His team lost that match.
Prosecutors are questioning eight more players for their possible collusion with the bribed two. Shockingly, among the investigated players is Kim Dong-hyun, 27, a former striker for the Korean national squad who now plays for Sangmu or the Korea Armed Forces Athletic Corp.
The scam came as a big surprise to many soccer fans as it is the first of its kind in the K-League since its launch 28 years ago. However, rumors of match-fixing in pro soccer have circulated since 2008 when police arrested 23 brokers and players from the semi-professional K2 League and the amateur K3 League for rigging games.
According to reports, some K-League clubs identified players who had contacted gambling brokers. But they stopped short of bringing the cases to light, choosing instead to either cover them up or transfer the players to other teams. If these reports are true, the clubs deserve criticism for their lack of courage in confronting a festering problem.
Prosecutors need to investigate these allegations and root out any corrupt element in the K-League. They also need to crack down on operators of illegal online sports betting sites who could be tempted to manipulate match results to make undue gains.
According to reports, there are currently some 500 to 1,000 illegal sites in operation, with many making millions of dollars a year. Their annual turnover is estimated at 4 trillion won. These sites attract people because they allow them to make unlimited bets, as opposed to the 100,000 won limit for tickets issued by Sportstoto, the only company in Korea licensed to engage in the sports betting business.
Clamping down on these illegal sites is not easy because they operate their servers abroad. But letting them continue to operate is leaving professional players of soccer and other popular sports exposed to game-rigging temptations.
Match-fixing makes a mockery of the efforts honest players make to win games. It is also an affront to all sports fans. The standard of Korean soccer and other sports cannot be elevated without terminating attempts to manipulate game outcomes.
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