No N. Koreans visited S. Korea in 2012

In the latest sign of stalled relations between the two Koreas, government figures showed Friday that no North Koreans visited the South in 2012.

With interaction at its lowest point since the late 1990s, the focus now turns to President-elect Park Geun-hye and how quickly she will pursue her campaign target of building trust between the sides.

The number dropped quickly as Lee Myung-bak ended a decade of unconditional engagement with the North upon taking office. In 2007, the final year of the engagement policy, over 1,000 North Koreans visited the South. But the figure fell to 332 in 2008 while 14 came to South Korea in 2011.

In 2010, Pyongyang waged two deadly attacks on the South that prompted Seoul to cut off nearly all exchanges.

While Park’s more moderate policy still has the condition of massive cooperation for an improvement in the security environment, many expect measures to reduce tensions such as the resumption of family reunions for those separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

In a New Year’s speech, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un indicated his regime would reciprocate efforts to ease regional tensions that are hampering its economic development.

On Thursday, the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea continued the peace offensive, saying the North would “keep an eye on South Korean authorities’ future attitude,” with an eye towards reconciliation in a piece carried by state media.

The number of North Koreans visiting the South topped out at 1,313 in 2005, due to a large cheerleading delegation sent for the Asian Athletics Championships in Incheon.

Saying neither a hard line nor unconditional engagement has worked, Park positions herself between the poles. The conservative politician proposes that the two Koreas build “cooperation centers” in each other’s capital to build trust on the Korean Peninsula and says she would meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un if it would have tangible results.

Concern lingers, however, that the North could attempt a two-pronged approach of engagement and belligerence by further testing its nuclear weapons technology. Some analysts say the North may believe it has leverage given the success of its Dec. 12 rocket launch, widely seen as a sign it could gain long-range nuclear weapons capability. <The Korea Times/Kim Young-jin>