Marianne Kearney, Jakarta – Indonesia's offer to act as the honest broker between the two Koreas, made during North Korean number two leader Kim Yong Nam's first visit here, has been greeted with scepticism.
Observers point out that President Megawati Sukarnoputri has only the slimmest of chances to ease tensions and revive dialogue between the two feuding neighbours.
Yesterday, the visiting president of the North Korean Parliament held "intense discussions" with Ms Megawati, Foreign Minister Hassan Wirayuda told reporters after the meeting at the presidential palace.
"As a good friend, Indonesia offered how we can help in the effort to revive dialogue between the two states towards reunification of North and South Korea and also towards resolving the conflict in that region," he said.
Indonesia has promoted the visit, which follows a visit by Ms Megawati to Pyongyang in March, as a first step in a dialogue between the two Koreas.
During her visit, Ms Megawati met North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and urged North Korea to resume a dialogue with the world and delivered a message from South Korean President Kim Dae Jung.
However, observers and diplomats here doubt that any peace initiatives will emerge from Mr Kim Yong Nam's visit or even that it indicates North Korea's willingness to restart talks.
"There is no particular meaning behind why Kim Yong Nam is visiting Indonesia. Last year he visited all the other South-east Asian countries so perhaps it is just part of that," said Mr Kim Eun Sok, a diplomat at the South Korean embassy.
He said that although he did not doubt the sincerity of Jakarta's efforts, he saw no signs that North Korea was ready to come to the negotiation table. Tensions between North and South Korea increased sharply at the end of last month when their navies clashed close to their maritime border.
Observers also said Indonesia's desire to act as a peace broker appeared to originate in Ms Megawati"s "emotional' attachment to her father and founding president Sukarno's diplomatic policy. They say the memories of her visit to North Korea as the daughter of then president Sukarno, when she first met Kim Jong Il, are driving the peace overtures more than concrete ideas on how to broker peace.
Another diplomat doubted the peace initiatives were serious, saying that Ms Megawati and her government were far too consumed by domestic politics and trying to control Parliament ahead of the 2004 elections to focus on international affairs.
Among other things, she is dealing with the fallout of a major graft probe involving the Indonesian Speaker, factionalism in her own party, a separatist movement in Aceh and a sectarian conflict in the Malukus and a lacklustre economy.
Western diplomats also noted that although the two nations had friendly ties since the 1960s, it was strange that Indonesia – which has an anti-communist policy and only last week arrested a vendor for selling T-shirts promoting communism – is promoting peace with one of the world's last communist states.
Indonesia has little to gain from the visit, say diplomats, but the impoverished North Korea might be hoping to promote economic ties. Jakarta and Pyongyang yesterday signed two memorandums of understanding to avoid double taxation and cooperation in science and technology.
Mr Hassan said they also talked about working together in international bodies such as the Asean Regional Forum.