Spotlight: Situation on peninsular remains delicate, but Inter-Korean ties show sign of thawing

South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) walked a tightrope from the beginning of this year, although signs of thawing in inter-Korean relations emerged toward the year-end.

The first clash between Seoul and Pyongyang was triggered by the DPRK's unilateral notification in February of its decision to raise wages for DPRK workers at the inter-Korean factory park in the DPRK's border town of Kaesong.

Pyongyang demanded a 5.18-percent hike in wages, a claim which Seoul denounced as unacceptable because the inter-Korean agreement had set the ceiling at 5 percent. The South side called for inter-governmental talks before fixing the wage increase, while the DPRK claimed it was its internal affairs.

Amid the lingering disputes, the South Korean government approved a civic organizations's fertilizer aid in April to the North side for the first time since the so-called May 24 economic sanctions were imposed by South Korea on the DPRK in 2010.

The imposition was caused by what Seoul claimed was Pyongyang's torpedo attack on a South Korean Navy warship that killed 46 soldiers.

In May, Seoul announced plans to expand private-sector exchanges between the two Koreas, but consultations on the Kaesong industrial complex's wage hike bore no fruits in July, leaving grounds for quarrels.

Tensions surged in August as land mine explosions in the frontline area maimed two South Korean soldiers. Seoul came to the conclusion that it was a provocative act by DPRK soldiers, to which Pyongyang has remained mum until now.

On Aug. 18, the two Koreas agreed to a 5 percent hike in wages for Kaesong workers, but just two days later, the two sides exchanged artillery fire in border areas, putting their respective armed forces at the highest alert.

Top-level military advisers to South Korean President Park Geun-hye and top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un met in the truce village of Panmunjom to deescalate tensions.

After four days of marathon talks, Seoul and Pyongyang reached an agreement on Aug. 25, boosting expectations for thawing inter-Korean relations.

According to the Aug. 25 agreement, the two Koreas held the reunion of Korean families, separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, at the DPRK's scenic resort of Mount Kumgang for seven days through Oct. 26.

The inter-Korean governmental dialogue, also pledged at the Aug. 25 agreement, was held among vice ministers for two days to Dec. 12, but ended up failing as the talks reached no agreement and no date was set for the next round of talks.

It indicated a long way to go in narrowing differences of major inter-Korean issues. During the talks among vice ministers, Pyongyang demanded a resumption of tours to the Mount Kumgang resort, but Seoul called for a separate working-level dialogue to discuss the issue.

Instead, South Korea focused on the issue of a regular reunion of the separated families, which the DPRK claimed should be preceded by the resumption of the tourist project.

Many destabilizing factors remain in the process of improving ties between the two Koreas. Combined South Korean and United States' military forces are expected to carry out their joint war games twice next year, which the DPRK has labelled the rehearsal for a northward invasion.

The May 24 sanctions still prevent deeper economic cooperation between the two Koreas, and the resumption of the Mount Kumgang resort looks hard to bring to fruition in the foreseeable future.

Above all, the DPRK shows no sign of giving up its nuclear ambitions, while denuclearization of the peninsula is crucial to peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in the wider region.

On Dec. 14, South Korean Defense Minister Han min-koo held a semi-annual meeting with major commanders of the military, sharing expectations that the DPRK would attempt a nuclear test and conduct a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) test next year.

Pyongyang carried out three nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013 respectively. The latest one was staged just two months after launching a three-stage, Unha-3 rocket, which South Korea sees as a long-range ballistic missile, in December 2012.

In May, the DPRK made an official announcement of its successful SLBM test-launch, overseen by top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un. South Korea estimated that Pyongyang attempted to conduct another test-launch of the sub-launched missile in late November, but believe the test ended up failing. Endit