|
 |
 |
SEOUL -- When South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader
Kim Jong-il
meet in Pyongyang June 12-14, an item high on their agenda is likely to be
soccer.
"The World Cup will be a topic for sure," said Kim Kee-hyun, spokesman
for the Korean Organizing Committee for the 2002 FIFA World Cup-Korea/Japan
(KOWOC).
It is the first time two nations will be sharing the World Cup on a
co-host basis.
"We've been told to prepare talking papers," Kim said. He speaks from
an insider's viewpoint. His job until last month was as an aide to Culture
and Tourism Minister Park Jie-won who was the special envoy who led
negotiations for the summit with North representatives in Beijing and in
Shanghai in person and by telephone.
However, agendas and procedures will not be fully fixed until working
level meetings take place later this month.
The significance of "soccer" as one summit agenda topic may turn out to
have more to do with
re- linking the two Koreas than subjects like reunion of relatives, food
aid, investment, travel and mutual disarmament, analysts say.
These diplomatic and academic Korea watchers say Kim Dae-jung's intention
is to get North Korea to take part in the 2002 World Cup as a means of
coaxing the North into the world community, a subject which has been
discussed before with most FIFA members expressing negative reaction.
Spokesman Kim, w ho heads one of the KOWOC departments, admits making
arrangements for North Korean participation would be a "headache" at this
late date, since many arrangements have been finalized.
At present half of the World Cup matches are scheduled for Korea an
half for Japan. The opening ceremony and game will be at Seoul's Olympic
Stadium, venue of the 1988 Olympiad. The championship game and closing
ceremony will be held in Japan at Yokohamas's new stadium.
Spokesman Kim made it clear in the interview that Korea is fully able
to meet funding requirements of the World Cup. There had been some concern
that the Asian financial crisis had left Korea short of funds. But last
year's 10 percent growth showed the comeback is real.
Kim Dae-jung will preside over the World Cup in 2002, one year before
the mandatory end of his term 2003. A summit plus some North Korean
participation in the World Cup would be feathers in the president's cap.
Of course co-host Japan , in the midst of its own diplomatic negotiations
with North Korea, would have to agree.
President Kim, who has no shortage of diplomatic ideas, would also like
to arrange to have Japanese Emperor Akihito to make a visit to Korea on the
occasion,
"'The Kim D.J. Scenario' as it's known around Seoul, is for North and
South to reunite, Emperor Akihito to visit Korea to heal old colonial
wounds, and President Kim wins the Nobel Peace Prize" said a Western
diplomat speaking on the basis of anonymity.
Kim's foes, most vocally Lee Hoi-chang, President of the opposition
Grand National Party (GNP) says the President has "shamelessly
manipulated" all of these elements from a political stance, starting with
the April 13 parliamentary elections.
Rep. Hong Sa-duk, chief campaign manager for the GNP, raised
suspicions of an under-the-table deal with the North. "The inter-Korean
summit must have been arranged at an exorbitant cost. People have the
right to know what kind of burden they should bear in return for the
summit."
Hong went on to claim that President Kim is preoccupied with an
election victory and pursuit of the Nobel Peace Prize.
Edward Neilan (eneilan@crisscross.com) is a veteran journalist, based in Tokyo, who covers East Asia and writes weekly for World Tribune.com.