hankyoreh

President Park Geun-hye and US President Barack Obama held a summit in Seoul on Apr. 25. When it came to the most pressing issue, the North Korean nuclear issue, they maintained their standard positions of strategic patience, or wait-and-see. There is more concern that if a turning point is not found soon, the situation could get worse, with North Korea carrying out a fourth nuclear test.

In the joint statement and the press conference, the two leaders sternly warned the North not to move ahead with additional provocations, such as a fourth nuclear test, and called on the North to take meaningful steps toward denuclearization. This stance is discouraging, as it represents a step back from the flexibility that was seen when delegates to the six-party talks recently said they were open to considering various conditions for resuming the talks. It is necessary to warn North Korea about the nuclear tests, but no solution for the nuclear issue can be found by clinging to the current hard-line position.

With the summit taking place just after the conclusion of the joint ROK-US military exercises, which lasted for two months, there was an urgent need to reorient the policy framework to ease tensions. Recent signs that North Korea is preparing for another nuclear test in Punggye Village in North Hamkyong Province may well be intended to push the US into dialogue.

But rather than offering new approaches for resuming the six-party talks, the two leaders instead focused on North Korea’s human rights abuses and on expanding the joint military exercises. The current American position - putting more priority on ‘rebalancing Asia’, which stresses competition with China, than on resolving the North Korean nuclear issue - seems to have had a major effect on this summit. One example is the emphasis that was placed on the importance of joint military exercises between South Korea, the US, and Japan. References to the Korean missile defense system and to an improvement in interoperability with the US could also make China wary.

The South Korean government much also share a large part of the blame for the failure to make progress on the North Korean nuclear issue. In the current situation, the primary momentum for resuming the six-party talks needs to come from the South Korean government. Nevertheless, Park and her administration appear to be content with maintaining the status quo. While it is clear that the nuclear issue cannot be solved until North Korea’s attitude changes, demanding North Korea to take action by itself will not lead to a solution.

It is not too late for South Korea and the US to aggressively court talks with North Korea. A few rounds of talks may not resolve all of the problems, but it is obvious that the situation will deteriorate if talks do not take place.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]