Two Kims, one year, yet sunshine lacking

Relations between the two Koreas have cooled since Kim Dae-jung's visit to Washington in March

By staff and wire reports

SEOUL, Korea -- Has North Korea's attitude towards the South changed at all? Fifty percent of South Koreans don't think so.

A poll conducted just days before the first anniversary of a landmark summit between North and South Korea in Pyongyang reflects despondency towards the "sunshine policy," which was supposed to steer reconciliation on the peninsula.

South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, whose trip to Pyongyang last June helped earn him the 2000 Nobel Peace Prize, has been expecting his reclusive North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-il to make a return visit.

Kim Jong-il promised the South Korean president he would travel to Seoul to help end decades of tension between the two nations on the divided peninsula.

Last June's summit between the two Kims was the first of its kind since the peninsula was divided into the communist North and the pro-Western South at the end of World War II. It was the biggest step toward peace since the 1950-53 Korean War.

North Korea has repeatedly said it will stick to terms of last year's summit agreement, which includes Kim Jong-il's visit to Seoul and economic and humanitarian exchanges.

But as the one-year anniversary of the June 15 summit draws near it appears there will be no North Korean flag waving in Seoul this month.

Two Kims' optimism

But despite the drawbacks and the North's apparent pullback, others remain optimistic, saying that Seoul's "sunshine policy" has been fruitful.

A flurry of activities followed last year's summit. They included a series of reunions between families divided by the Korean War, cabinet level talks and a visit by then U.S Secretary of State Madelaine Albright to Pyongyang.

Reunions of family members split by borders since the 1950-52 civil war have been put on hold

A start was also made on reconnecting a railway across the world's most fortified border, but was halted around the time the Bush administration named North Korea a "rogue state."

"All of that could not have happened without that historic summit between the two Kims," said one diplomatic source in Seoul. "But the pace of reconciliation up to that point, and immediately after, was unsustainable. It couldn't possibly have continued on such a steep path," he said.

"Things have to move slowly, and in the context of the past five years, or past decade, we have come a very long way."

Dialogue on security

The second summit this year was supposed to cover security issues on the peninsula, an area that was nearly resolved earlier this year when South Korean officials hinted at a peace declaration.

However, North Korea prefers discussing these issues with the United States, since the head of the U.S forces in Korea, in the event of war, would become the head of combined U.N. and South Korean military.

On this front, North Korea's time will soon come.

Washington openly distrusts North Korea which continues to export missiles to Iraq, Syria and Pakistan

The new Bush administration pulled back from talks with the North shortly after it came into office, but now says it is ready for an "open dialogue" with the reclusive state on a range of issues without preconditions.

The U.S. agenda encompasses curbing North Korea's missile and nuclear capabilities and reducing the threat of its 1.1 million strong military, in exchange for beneficial aid and ties.

The new initiative by the Bush administration comes on the heels of an ambitious and hugely expansive U.S. missile shield directed towards threats from "rogue states" with long-range missile capabilities such as North Korea, which has reacted bitterly to its pariah status.

North Korea recognizes that dialogue with the U.S. has more priority than any directed towards the South, but it still remains notably silent in response to the latest U.S. initiatives.

A change in Kim Jong-il

A year on and many now realize that the biggest benefit of last year's summit was to end Kim Jong-il's status as the pariah of a "rogue state."

The summit in many ways greatly enhanced his status at home and overseas.

Kim Jong-il has succeeded in courting European, U.S and other foreign dignitaries as he tries to live up to the role of his late charismatic father Kim Il-sung, who died in 1994.

It is apparent that the "sunshine policy" still has a long way before any announcement of true reconciliation can be made.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Reuters contributed to this report.