WAGING WAR, PURSUING PEACE

the depiction of the missile launch at the stadium, and he said I could make all of our discussions public, with the exception of one issue involv­ing the sensitivities of a third country. I told him I thought our discus- • sion,s had increased understanding on both sides.

Kim replied, "When the South Koreans came, I asked whether they . were looking for horns on my head. They said no. Yes, there were a lot of misunderstandings between us. For example, we did not educate our chil­dren right. Our children were taught to call your countrymen 'American .. bastards' instead of just 'Americans.'" .

That night we had another joint dinner, this time in a place called Mag­nolia Hall. In accordance with protocol, we were hosting-which meant a bicultural menu featuring American roast turkey with kimchi and Korean baked pigeon (head on) accompanied by strawberry shortcake, Californian . and Korean wines, and thankfully, water. Kim and I gave each other gifts . and talked about economic issues. He admitted that his country waS in dire straits, trapped in a vicious circle, because the drought had made it impossi- . ble to generate hydroelectric power, thermal plants were hurt by a lack of .. coal, and they couldn't mine coal without electricity.

I asked him whether he would consider opening his economy and he responded, ''What do you mean by 'opening'? We will have to define the . tenn first, because opening.means different things to different countries. We do not accept the Western version of opening. Opening should not hann our traditions." He added that he was not interested in the Chinese model of mixing free markets and socialism. Instead he was intrigued by the Swedish model, which he said was basically socialist. Pondering the; idea ofN orth Korea as Sweden, I asked him if there were any other models.

He said, "Thailand maintains a strong traditional royal system has preserved its independence ~ough a long, turbulent history, yet a market economy. I am also interested in the Thai model." I wondered myself whether it was Thailand's economic system or its preservation royalty that most attracted him.

As our plates were taken away, one end of the room abruptly rose became a stage lined by blinking red, yellow, green, and white Music began to blare and twelve young women skipped on stage in knee-length silver outfits, which apparently represented spring. did a Vegas-style production number-although decidedly then huddled in the middle of the stage. When they dehuddled a few onds later, they were dressed in summery green. We all wondered they had done it, when a few minutes later, after another dance, there another huddle during which their dresses turned blue for fall, dance, and a final huddle from which they emerged in Christmassy

INSIDE THE HERMIT KINGDOM

and green. The quick-change trick soon became apparent when one unlucky dancer failed to make the Velcro-assisted change from fall to

. winter colors on time, and moved about for the rest of the night with a look of agony on her face. Kim told me he had choreographed the whole show. I wondered whether the hapless dancer would ever perform again.

The next morning, my aircraft flew east, then south, then west, avoid­ing the unpredictable airspace over the demilitarized zone before landing in Seoul, ~here I consulted With Kim Dae-jung and the Japanese foreign minister. Then I headed home, bearing with me three sets of impressions.

The first concerned the prospects for a summit. Certainly North Korea's respoJ?se to my visit showed its leader was serious. The DPRK seemed willing to accept more significant restraints on its missile programs than we had expected. I had avoided any specific discussion of compensation, but the costs of what the North Koreans were seeking in food, fertilizer, and help in lallilching satellites would be minimal compared to the expense of defending against the threats its missile programs posed.

My second impression was of Kim Jong n himself. I could confirm Kim Dae-jung's view that his DPRK cOllilterpart was an intelligent man

. who knew what he wanted. He was isolated, not uninformed. Despite his country's wretched condition, he didn't seem a desperate or even a wor­ried man. He seemed confident. VVhat did he want? Above ail, normal relations with the United States; that would shield his country from the threat he saw posed by American power and help him to be taken seri­ously in the eyes of the world.

On a personal level, I had to assume that Kim sincerely believed in the blarney he had been taught and saw himself as the protector and benefactor of his nation. The core problem with Communism is that it subsumes the rights of the individual to the supposed interests of society, and once you have discounted individual rights, it is a short step to dis-

. human suffering. Ideological brainwashing might be easier to swallow as an excuse if the people at the top shared in the sacri£ces. In North Korea, as in the old Soviet Union, the upper echelons wallow in privilege. Chairman Kim's gymnastic extravaganza probably used enough electricity to light Pyongyang for a week. And he was personally respon­

for increasing the wealth and prerogatives of senior military officers, presUIlnatJlIv to ward off threats from the only group capable of challeng­

him. One could not preside over a system as cruel as the DPRK's with­being cruel oneself, but I did not think we had the luxury of simply

IgnIClnIlg him. He was not going to go away and his country, though weak, not about to fail apart. My conclusion was that we should approach in a businesslike way; not hesitate to engage in direct talks, and take