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President Moon Jae-in speaks on the phone with German Prime Minister Angela Merkel at the Blue House on Sept. 4. The president spent most of the day discussing responses of the international community to North Korea’s sixth nuclear test with world leaders

During a telephone call on the evening of Sept. 4, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and US President Donald Trump agreed to maximize pressure on North Korea using all available methods. Reportedly, the two leaders made the sudden decision to lift the restrictions on the weight of missile warheads, as South Korea has long wanted. But the word “dialogue” was not mentioned in the two leaders’ telephone call. The place of “dialogue” was taken by “strengthening military capability.” During a meeting on Sept. 5, US Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Scott Swift and South Korean Defense Minister Song Young-moo reportedly agreed on the need to create real military contingency plans.

Since North Korea’s recent test launches of long-range missiles and its sixth nuclear test, the Moon administration’s response seems to be focused on strengthening the military option by temporarily deploying THAAD, lifting the US and South Korea’s restrictions on the weight of missile warheads and openly requesting the deployment of American strategic assets. The phone call between the two leaders liberates South Korea from missile guidelines imposed 38 years ago, which limited the weight of payloads to 500 kg, and enables it to begin developing “bunker busters,” missiles that can destroy North Korean underground military facilities.

In a situation where North Korea continues to develop nuclear weapons and long-range missiles despite the strong concerns and warnings of the international community, it’s obvious that South Korea cannot just be a bystander. In that sense, the Moon administration’s effort to create the maximum deterrent against North Korea by strengthening its military capabilities is reasonable and understandable. With the North Korean regime under its leader Kim Jong-un barreling ahead like a locomotive with no brakes, there is skepticism about whether there’s any point in talking about “dialogue” when there is no response from the North Defense Minister Song even told the National Assembly that “redeploying tactical nuclear weapons is an option that ought to be considered as one of the various ways of effectively countering and deterring the threat of North Korean nuclear weapons, even though it contradicts government policy.”

But the reality that we cannot avoid and that we must not ignore is that the North Korean nuclear issue cannot be resolved through military means alone and that, in the end, it must be addressed through dialogue and negotiations. For the current “maximum sanctions and pressure” to be meaningful, they must be a key that opens the door to “dialogue and negotiations.” That is why it’s troubling that Moon and Trump made absolutely no mention of dialogue while they were reaching an agreement about strengthening military capabilities.

Even presuming that our current course of action is putting sanctions and pressure on North Korea, officials inside the government must continue making elaborate preparations for dialogue and negotiations. That is even more the case when the indecisive behavior of the Trump administration creates confusion about what its strategy for North Korea’s nuclear weapons program actually is. The diplomatic and security establishment in the South Korean government needs to stay balanced and take the lead by providing the US with a roadmap for negotiations with North Korea, but it’s doubtful whether they’re actually doing so. The Blue House needs to pay serious attention to politicians who are calling for a reshuffle of the diplomatic and security establishment.

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