S. Korean Principles Vs. Hunger in North

South Korean workers load rice onto a ship headed last year for North Korea. This year, the South, citing rights abuses, has delayed the 500,000 tons of food it will send north. (By Lee Jin-man -- Associated Press)

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Inside the Seoul government, there are mid-level specialists in inter-Korean relations who argue that South Korea cannot afford to put human rights ahead of economic ties, family reunification and long-term cooperation.

"Lee has yet to learn that finger-pointing on human rights is a dead-end policy," said one longtime government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "It is perceived by the North Korean government as a challenge to their national identity."

North Korea has indeed bristled. It has test-fired missiles into the sea, expelled South Korean officials from an industrial park in the North and unleashed a snarling torrent of rhetoric, threatening to turn South Korea into "ashes" and describing Lee's policies as "ignorant" and "fascist."

With its dander up, the North has so far refrained from asking South Korea for the food and fertilizer that it desperately needs to avoid widespread hunger. Even if it does ask, it is now too late for fertilizer to be delivered in time to help the crop that will be harvested in the fall.

History suggests that human rights concerns cannot trump other issues on the Korean Peninsula, said Kim, the researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification.

"We have to exercise more tact," he said.

Special correspondent Stella Kim contributed to this report.