Korean Summit
Historic Landmark

By M. R. Josse

THE SUMMIT meeting between President Kim Dae-Jung of South Korea and North Korea’s Great Leader Kim Jong-Il on June 13 in Pyongyang was truly spectacular. It may turn out to be historic as well as far as the divided Korean people are concerned.

BACKDROP: A giant leap for the 70 million Koreans who have been separated by 55 years of turbulent history, the June 13-15 visit of the South Korean president to what is usually described by the western media as reclusive North Korea has even set off hopes that unification of the divided peninsula is now possible.

Before looking at that more closely, it may be useful to recall some salient facts of modern Korean history. Annexed by Japan in 1910, Korea (renamed Chosen) was liberated at the end of the Second World War following Japan’s acceptance of the Potsdam Declaration for unconditional surrender on August 14, 1945.

As a result of American initiative, the 38th parallel was identified as the line of demarcation between Soviet occupation forces, who had entered the north on August 8, and US occupation forces who were introduced a month later.

While the Americans set up a military government allied with the conservative political forces, the Soviets allied with leftist and Communist Korean forces
led by Kim Il-Sung who had been an anti-Japanese guerrilla leader in Manchuria.

After a joint US-Soviet commission failed to agree on plans for the reunification of Korea, the problem was placed on the UN agenda in September 1947. In accordance with a UN resolution, elections were held on May 10, 1948 in South Korea; North Korea did not recognise UN competency to sponsor the elections.

On June 25, 1950, North Korean forces struck across the 38th parallel in a move to unify the peninsula. Moving swiftly, within three days,. it captured Seoul. At the US’s urging, the UN Security Council branded the North as aggressor and called for the withdrawal of the invading forces.

US air and naval forces went into action on June 27 followed by that of ground forces three days later. A multi-national UN Command was then created to join with and lead the South Koreans. The Inchon Landing, under America’s Gen. Douglas Macarthur, soon pushed back the North’s advance.

The Korean war continued, stabilising mainly along the 38th parallel, until an armistice agreement was signed on June 27, 1953 at Panmunjong ending a conflict that cost the lives of 415,000 South Koreans, 23,300 Americans and 3,100 UN allies.

Official figures from the North put their dead at 50,000 but western estimates say it could be as high as 2 million.

After the withdrawal of UN Command troops, those of the US remained. Under a treaty with South Korea, the US in 1954 guaranteed its security. Even today some 37,000 American troops are in South Korea. In 1954 an international conference failed to come up with a satisfactory formula for reunification.

HISTORIC SUMMIT: Coming back to the historic Kim-Kim Summit, in concrete terms a reconciliation accord was reached between the two leaders. In the main, the agreement aims at easing tensions, promoting reconciliation and cooperation and bringing together millions of families divided since 1945.

Accordingly, North and South Korea are to exchange prisoners and permit divided families to meet. Chairman Kim Jong-Il accepted an invitation to visit Seoul "at an appropriate time."

Though no formal announcement was made about its precise timing, South Korean press accounts have said that the government hopes the North Korean leader will visit ahead of the 55th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japanese rule, on August 15.

Among the other key agreements are:

** That the two sides would hold "government-to-government dialogue" to implement their key agreement.

**That they would "activate cooperation and exchanges" in society, sports, health, environment and the economy.

** That they would work "independently" towards reunification.

** That reunification should be realised in a manner that respects and recognises each side’s formula.

Released details about agreements reached between North and South Korea do not refer to the presence of 37,000 US troops in South Korea which, as is known, the North wants removed.

Similarly, there is no mention about the North’s nuclear and missile programme, which has been a a source of worry not only to the South but also the US and Japan.

Be that as it may, it is notable that, soon after the South Korean president returned triumphantly home, Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon briefed envoys from the United States, China, Japan and Russia. As per the relevant AFP news item from Seoul, the South Korean foreign minister also encouraged them to ask their governments to support the accord.

Interestingly, it was revealed that "the envoys all expressed surprise and congratulations on the summit results."

RESERVATION: Despite the fact that the summit signalled a new era in inter-Korean ties, reservations have also been expressed. Scott Snyder, a US expert, for one, said it remained to be seen whether the summit "will be another false start that has characteristically bedeviled the inter-Korean process."

Similarly, cautious was US State Department’s Richard Boucher who observed: "I don’t think we see in this the seeds of anything that would change the possibility of a missile threat to the United States that we would have to deal with."

For more hopeful is a South Korean report which disclosed that Pyongyang recognised "the need to adjust its domestic and foreign policies in a pragmatic direction’ in order to adapt itself to the international climate in the post-Cold War era." Let us believe that is really so.

Scope For Tourism Development

By Yug Bahadur

NEPAL has been blessed in many ways. Specially in terms of attracting international tourists, the Gods have been kind to the country. Similarly the ancestors of the people who live here have also been very generous and they have left the future generations many unique gifts of culture.

Unique

It is no wonder that almost five hundred thousand people from all over the world come to this unique touristic destination each year. They come to enjoy both the natural beauty of Nepal and also its unique cultural heritage.

In fact, at present, the tourism industry most probably provides employment either directly or indirectly to the most number of people in the country. Ther are those who are directly involved in the tourism sector, like for example the hoteliers, the travel agents, trekking guides, rafting agencies and even restaurant owners. Then there are others, who are benefitting from this sector in other ways. by driving taxis, selling vegetables or poulty to hotels and restaurants that cater to the tourists and carrying stuff for the trekkers and mountaineers among others.

Thus, a wide network of people are covered by the tourism sector. The government also benefits through the huge amount of revenue that is generated and to boot, tourism is also one of the biggest foreign currency earners of the country.

However, it is true that tourism has also created some problems. If in the early Sixties, when the first hippies started to drift into this Himalayan Kingdom to seek peace and adventure, the concern was over drugs after some Nepalese youths started to follow their footsteps, now people are more worried over environmental rather than social degradation.

For example, deforestation has taken place to cater to the comforts of the tourists in the otherwise naturally untouched areas and pristine places have been littered with empty bottles and plastic garbage. Even a place like mighty Mt. Everest has seen the accumulation of man-made wastes.

However, it is encouraging that both the government and also the travel-trade entreprenuers are showing concern about such things. Many luxury hotels and even small time travel and trekking agencies are organising eco-friendly packages for tourists. There is a resort in Pokhara, which does not even use chlorine to clean its swimming pool. The water is filtered naturally.

But apart from being eco-friendly, there has come a time to also diversify the tourism sector. There are many areas in the country, which are very beautiful and which can be developed as wonderful tourist destinations.

Just a few days back, at a seminar organised by the Nepal Association for Travel Agents (NATA). experts and travel entrepreneurs expressed the view that Nepalese tourism could gain a lot by cooperating with the Tibetan Autonomous region of China while promoting its international tourism package.

In terms of international tourism. Tibet is a comparatively new place and it holds a mysterious image for many people. Thousands of tourists from all over the world want to visit this place high up in the mountains, and it is a great advantage for Nepal that the best way to reach. Tibet is through it. Therefore, promoting Nepal and Tibet tours, like mentioned by the travel experts, would benefit both the places.

However, this is only one example of how the Nepalese tourism industry can be further expanded. There are various other options open within the country too.

For example, in spite of much hullabaloo being created about "Village tourism", this aspect of the travel business has not been earnestly explored or developed. Nepal being a country made up of villages, developing village tourism could go a long way in bringing about an evenly spread development in a wider area. This is an area which has to be seriously looked into by the decision makers in the Tourism Ministry and also by private sector tourism entrepreneurs.

It is true that till now, the majority of the tourists who come to Nepal are treading on a beaten path and going to only a few select places. This has led to over-exploitation and over-crowding of these places. When there are hundreds of other sites that are equally as beautiful and that have the potential to become popular tourist destination, diversification of the tourism destinations within the country can easily take place. All it will require is a bit of planning and effort.

The government on its part has to contribute by developing the physical infrastructure in such areas. all-weather airports, motorable roads and electricity and telephones will significantly help in the development of such destinations. Then the private sector can contribute from their side by promoting those areas and providing various services to attract international visitors.

Like we already mentioned above, whenever we talk of developing the tourism sector more and also bringing in more visitors, we must also not forget about the conservation of natural environmental and the preservation of culture. Specially so when we seek to develop village tourism.

Conservation is a very important aspect of the Nepalese tourism sector, as it is only for the natural beauty and the unique historical attractions of this nation that the majority of tourists come here. If these very assets are not protected and preserved, then the future of the whole tourism sector will be bleak.

Necessity

Considering the variety of benefits the tourism industry is giving to the country, it is essential to keep this sector thriving and free from avoidable problems. Inter-action among government authorities, tourism entrepreneurs and other experts in the field, will help in properly nurturing this industry. With the right policies and cooperation from the private sector, tourism could go on and sustain the national economy, not only for now, but for generations to come.