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The ASEAN Regional Forum chairman’s statement released on July 24 is attracting attention from the international community. The statement contains expressions of the strong support for continued development of the inter-Korean dialogue based on the October 4 Summit Declaration as well as concern about the July 11 shooting at Mount Geumgang (Kumgang) and anticipation for its early resolution.

After the chairman’s statement was released on July 24, a key official with the Korean delegation described South Korea as being “embarrassed,” but did not say that the representatives would demand any additional corrections from Singapore, which hosted the talks.

On July 25, however, the South Korean delegation requested that the phrase “based on the October 4 declaration” be removed after the Blue House took issue with it. Deputy Foreign Minister Lee Yong-joon brought the issue to the attention of his Singaporean counterpart.

Then, on July 26, Kyodo News reported that the North Korean delegation had requested that the part about the Mount Geumgang shooting incident be removed.

The Kyodo news report, however, cannot reverse the analysis that the removal of both items is the result of Seoul’s diplomatic maneuvering. A high-ranking official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade actually admitted that the ARF statement would have been settled as it was if South Korea had not requested that the part about the October 4 declaration be removed.

It is presumed that after both Seoul and Pyongyang protested the related expressions, Singapore went back to Deputy Minister Lee to ask whether both the phrase referring to the Geumgang incident and the one referring to the October 4 Summit Declaration should be kept or deleted. South Korea appears to have chosen to delete both of them.

Then who in the South Korean government decided to demand that the phrase “based on the October 4 declaration” be removed?

Another key official with the delegation claims that the request did not come from the Blue House, which means that the delegation, led by Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, made the call. Foreign Ministry officials confirmed the official’s statement on July 27, saying that the Blue House does not usually intervene in such minor matters.

However, a key official with the office of the chief presidential secretary for foreign affairs and national security said on July 27 that the decision had not been made by the Blue House, but that there had been discussions between the presidential office and the Singapore delegation. Both the Foreign Ministry and the Blue House seem to agree about this.

Regarding the phrase about the October 4 declaration, the official noted that when President Lee Myung-bak spoke at the National Assembly opening on July 10, he was advocating for dialogue between the two Koreas, though that would not necessarily mean that the entire declaration would be implemented. The official said the Blue House thought the chairman’s statement was problematic because it could give the wrong impression about South Korea’s intentions for the October 4 declaration.

After reviewing this chain of events, it seems highly possible that the Blue House did make the final decision. A former key government official said, “It is natural for Cheong Wa Dae (the Blue House) to coordinate such important diplomatic issues. The presidential office made a mistake in strategic judgment. However, if the delegation made a decision without getting instructions from Cheong Wa Dae, it means that the foreign affairs and national security systems aren’t working.”

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