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Sometimes a simple handshake can leave more enduring thumbprints in history books than scrawly signatures on piously worded accords. It is...

Sometimes a simple handshake can leave more enduring thumbprints in history books than scrawly signatures on piously worded accords. It is the images of South Korean President Kim Dae Jung8217;s historic journey into the Hermit Kingdom that carry more import than the accord he concluded his visit with.

It is from these photographs, in fact, that optimism emanates about healing the Korean peninsula8217;s still smarting wounds, inflicted by the long dead Cold War; for well-intentioned accords aimed at reconciliation and eventual reunification of the two Koreas on either side of the 38th parallel have been agreed upon before, in 1972 and in 1991, only to be soon forgotten as the two siblings retreated into confrontation and suspicion. And, yet, there is no gainsaying that the South Korean president8217;s summit with North Korea8217;s 8220;supreme leader8221; Kim Jong Il exceeded all expectations.

He has returned from Pyongyang with a joint declaration brimming with resolve to take initiatives towards reconciliation, reunification, reduction of tension, reuniting families separated during the war in the early fifties, and encouraging exchanges and cooperation in sundry fields.

For all the cautiousness any optimism must be laced with, perhaps the biggest gain in this entire summit is that the mists of mystery and reclusiveness shrouding the dictators of Pyongyang have retreated somewhat. In a world perpetually on edge about the North Korean leadership8217;s on-off fascination with nuclear programmes and long-range missiles and the desperate stunts that could be engineered by them to tackle pitifully severe food shortages, this is good news. It offers hopes of establishing a reliable line of communication with North Korea8217;s elusive leaders.

For, the two immediate tangible outcomes of the meeting of the two Kims are likely to be a military hotline and a railway crossing at the demilitarised zone. Indeed, the very fact that the two leaders underplayed the thorny issues on everybody8217;s mind like the presence of 37,000 American troops stationed in South Korea or the suspected nuclear installations in North Korea indicates pragmatism and maturity. Seemingly innocuous gestures like fostering family reunions and organising a return visit by Kim Jong Il to Seoul are necessary to counter half a century of suspicion.

After all, the two countries are technically still at war; addressing military problems will require all the mutual warmth and cordiality that can be generated from sustained people-to-people contacts for instance, the prospect of fielding a common team for the 2001 world table tennis championships and the 2002 soccer World Cup, as indeed of allowing common entry to the two teams at this summer8217;s Olympic Games in Sydney.

However, reconciliation is dependent on powers beyond the peninsula. The countries arrayed behind the two Koreas notably the US and Japan behind Seoul and China and Russia behind Pyongyang must be keenly aware of their role in movement towards rapprochement. It is significant that the North Koreans have of late been vociferously referring to alleged US involvement in a couple of massacres during the war. It is a responsibility all six nations must come to grips with if the world is to be made a safer place.