hankyoreh

South Korean President Moon Jae-in presides over a meeting with senior aides and secretaries at the Blue House on Apr. 27. (Blue House photo pool)

On the second anniversary of the inter-Korean summit in Panmunjom on Apr. 27, 2018, and the historic declaration signed there, South Korean President Moon Jae-in has once again made an overture to North Korea, describing the South and North as constituting “a single community of life.”

“The coronavirus crisis could serve as a new opportunity for inter-Korean cooperation. I hope that inter-Korean exchange and cooperation will start with a joint response to COVID-19 and continue with a joint response to infectious diseases affecting livestock, disasters in the border region, and climate change, on behalf of the vitality of the Korean Peninsula,” Moon said.

In Moon’s message of hope, he called on South and North Korean to regard the COVID-19 crisis as a blessing in disguise and to move together toward the goal of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.

Of particular interest was Moon’s pledge to “open the door to the future of the ‘peace economy’ through my relationship of trust with Chairman Kim Jong-un and our firm commitment to peace.” This remark can be seen as both squashing recent rumors that Kim is in poor health and directly proposing to Kim that the two resume dialogue.

“COVID-19 is awakening the spirit of solidarity and cooperation. I look forward to South and North Korea moving more quickly to overcome the outbreak and to implement the Panmunjom Declaration so as to usher in the post-corona world and open the door to a Korean Peninsula of peace, prosperity, and symbiotic development.”

This indicates Moon’s commitment to overcoming the “non-traditional security” issue of COVID-19 and, furthermore, to actively bring peace to the Korean Peninsula through the public support that was confirmed in the parliamentary elections on Apr. 15.

Also notable is the fact that Moon reiterated the need for South and North Korea to seek a breakthrough by “starting with things that are small but feasible” and to stop allowing inter-Korean relations to be subordinated to North Korea-US relations.

North Korea has reportedly been facing serious difficulties with the international community’s sanctions compounded by the COVID-19 outbreak. Considering that the US is dealing with a serious COVID-19 outbreak of its own and has a presidential election coming up, there’s unlikely to be progress in the North Korea-US negotiations for the time being.

While acknowledging the “international restrictions” whose existence is undeniable, Moon said that “as long as we remember that we are the masters of the destiny of the Korean Peninsula, a way will open to us.”

Over the past two years, inter-Korean relations have been tripped up and held back by external factors such as sanctions on the North and the deadlock in the North Korea-US negotiations. The lessons learned from that experience inform Moon’s proposal for South and North Korea to find “the most realistic and practical course.”

We hope that Kim will lend an ear to Moon’s proposal to treat cooperation on combating COVID-19 as a stepping stone toward bringing spring back to the Korean Peninsula, as promised in Panmunjom two years ago, and toward seeking the prosperity of the Korean Peninsula through the “peace economy.”

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