The pardon granted to the two journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee on Wednesday by North Korea has come as a pleasant surprise. The unexpected turn of events have occurred at a particularly crucial and uneasy time, when tensions between the US and North Korea have been on the rise and with the nuclear standoff not easing, the political rhetoric have been backed up with clear intentions of threat. When former US president Bill Clinton arrived in Pyongyang on a chartered plane on Tuesday it was a surprise that caught the world’s imagination. And once the objective of Clinton’s visit – which is suspected to have been secretly leaked out to the South Korean media – was known, it became quite perceptible that an agreement between the two states has already been secured behind closed doors for the release of the two journalists. Clinton’s visit was only a face-saving formality that needed to be complete the process.
These dramatic 24 hours in Pyongyang has once again brought ‘Backdoor Diplomacy’ to the center stage of international affairs and it has quite clearly demonstrated the wide array of possibilities that the role of diplomacy can achieve in difficult circumstances, if provided the opportunity. Since 9/11 and the supposed global war on terror, the role of Diplomacy suffered as governments around the world took more rigid positions while engaging with non-friendly actors. The function of diplomacy was dramatically reduced as international politics was largely driven by aggression and force. But now with the release of the two journalists, the effectiveness of Diplomacy and more precisely Backdoor Diplomacy has given the world an opportunity to discern the constructive role Diplomacy assumes in the arena of peacebuilding. This event has perhaps brought back back-door negotiators and mediators back to business.
Various commentators have been quick to point our that Pyongyang would not have given up the bargaining chip of the two journalists – both sentenced to 12 years of hard labor – unless they had been offered something in return. The US government has been rather swift to insist that it has made no promise nor offered any concession in its nuclear standoff to the North Korean government in return for its release of the two journalists. A US official reminded that the release was purely a “humanitarian mission” which was a “completely separate from issues between North Korea and the international community.” However, another senior US official has been quoted as saying that Clinton did talk about the “positive things that could flow” from freeing the two women.
For those who have knowledge and experience on Backdoor Diplomacy, they would know that something has passed between the two sides. The art of Diplomacy and negotiations demands significant ground work and requires qualified individuals who are prepared to engage with such a delicate and challenging task. It is quite obvious that much of the hard work and intense negotiation of give and take was done before Clinton arrived at Pyongyang on Tuesday. Those with knowledge in this area will say that Clinton announced his surprise visit only after the deal had already been struck. This exercise of Backdoor Diplomacy is a clear demonstration that this method provides a more flexible and broad process of engagement with face saving mechanisms; thus providing more chances of measured success. This event encourages further cautious hope that Backdoor Diplomacy will play a bigger role in resolving conflicts around the world. Hopefully the Nagas can learn something out of this process.
