South Koreans have not bought into President Park's hard-line approach, something that is costing her in terms of voters' support. With the New Year, her administration appears to be changing gear vis-à-vis the North. The new plan includes trains linking the two sides, cultural centres in the two capitals, and the same draft bill for reunification.

Seoul (AsiaNews) - The Park Geun-hye administration unveiled Monday new proposals for an inter-Korean roadmap towards unification. It includes an ambitious plan to operate trains between Seoul and Pyongyang, the creation of cultural centres to bridge the cultural gap between North and South, and a legal framework for reunification by their respective parliaments.

Four government offices, including the Unification, Foreign and Defence ministries, are working on drafting proposals for unification.

For the South Korean government, this year should be a turning point in the unification of the two Koreas, especially since it marks the 70^th anniversary of Korea's liberation from Japanese colonial rule and the start of the nation's division.

At her New Year's press conference on 12 January, President Park responded to Pyongyang's overtures with a surprising statement, saying that she was ready for talks without preconditions.

This new position reflects her concern over her dropping popularity, partly due to her hard-line stance vis-à-vis North Korea since she was elected.

Specifically, the ministries propose to open cultural centres in Seoul and Pyongyang to bridge the cultural and linguistic gaps that have emerged after decades of separation.

An ambitious plan to operate trains between the two capitals is also on the drawing board.

Finally, President Park's plan includes an offer to her counterpart (North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un) to vet the same draft bill, which the two parliaments would approve, to provide the legal basis of peaceful unification.

Other proposals include a plan to appoint officials in each ministry to oversee tasks related to the unification process, one to create inter-Korean agricultural complexes and expand health assistance to mothers and children, and one to manage the globalisation of the Kaesong Industrial Complex.

Whatever its merits, the plan will however remain on the drawing board until the North responds, which it might not do.

For Park Ihn-hwi, professor of international relations at Ewha Womans University, "Many of the ideas are abstract. They make us wonder how possibly the government can realise them.

"Because the government was overly ambitious, ministries appeared to have presented doubtful, unfeasible visions."

Similarly, Yang Moo-jin, a North Korea expert at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, noted, "The North has insisted that lifting the May 24 economic sanctions and resuming the Mount Kumgang tour program are pre-conditions for the talks, but the government failed to present any ideas on resolving either of those issues".

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