Koreas still divided year after summit

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

By staff and wire reports

SEOUL, South Korea -- The one-year anniversary of South Korean President Kim Dae-Jung's summit with the North Korean leaders is not the happy occasion some in the South would have hoped for.

While dialogue between North Korea and the United States seems to be back on track, talks between the two Koreas have yet to officially resume.

And sentiment in the South towards the North has also worsened in recent months.

North Korean commercial vessels entered South Korean waters illegally several times earlier this month.

South Korean naval ships guided them out again, but conservative critics say the military should have been much harsher, and say the North is taking advantage of the South's conciliatory stance.

There have even been critics that questioned the Kim Dae-Jung's ability to maintain the South's sovereignty.

And while President Kim continues to make calls for the North's Kim to make his promised return visit to the South, there has been no response.

And recent surveys show fewer and fewer South Koreans believe the return visit will materialize this year, all of which does not bode well for President Kim's sunshine policy.

"President Kim is in a box," says Lee Chong-min, a political science professor at Yonsei University. "He has to show this to the Korean public, that look, the sunshine policy is based on reciprocity

Clock ticking

If we go to Pyongyang, than he comes to Seoul, we give them economic assistance and there is levelling of tensions."

Even some of the most obvious examples of the success of the sunshine policy are in trouble.

Hyundai, the tour operator, is having financial difficulties, partly due to its troubled North Korean projects. And the North has resisted Hyundai's efforts to come up with solutions that could salvage the deal, another factor that has stirred resentment in the South towards the North.

That is why some analysts believe the Seoul government may be looking to Pyongyang to come up with a bold initiative, or at least cooperate in such an initiative coming from Seoul.

"The government is in the unlucky or unfortunate position," says Lee. "The economy is slowing down, overall relations with North Korea are in a deep freeze and together it gives the impression that the government is under attack on many different fronts."

Whatever happens, the South is feeling the pressure of time running out.

President Kim has only two years left in his administration. Two years, analysts say, to institutionalize the reconciliation process so that any future administration, irrespective of differing political parties, will carry on what he has started.