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President Moon Jae-in greets a group of leaders from the Korean Senior Citizens Association at the Blue House on Jan. 5. (Blue House Photo Pool)

On Jan. 5, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said he would not be weakly pursuing dialogue for its own sake as past administrations had done and promised that unifying the national discourse on North Korea policy could ensure success in the future. These remarks appear aimed at easing conservatives’ concerns about inter-Korean dialogue and showing his confidence about taking the driver’s seat on Korean Peninsular affairs.

During a New Year’s luncheon with a group of leaders from the Korean Senior Citizens Association (led by chairman Lee Jung-geun) at the Blue House on Jan. 5, Moon made a special request for unity on inter-Korean affairs. “The North Korean issue itself is difficult, but what’s even more difficult are the disagreements between South Koreans. If you will trust and support the new administration’s policy toward North Korea and unify the national discourse, I can say with confidence that I can do a good job,” he told the group.

Moon also said that he would not be weakly pursuing dialogue for its own sake as past administrations had done but that his pursuit of dialogue and peace would be backed by a powerful military, Blue House spokesperson Park Soo-hyun said. These remarks appear to be aimed at countering conflict inside South Korea by defusing the arguments and concerns about South Korea-US cooperation being undermined, sanctions against North Korea being weakened, and security being neglected that have been raised leading up to inter-Korean dialogue by critics of the president, including the Liberty Korea Party and the conservative press.

His remarks also appear to reflect a high degree of confidence about having persuaded US President Donald Trump during their phone conversation the previous day to express his complete support for Moon and to agree not to conduct joint military exercises for the duration of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. Moon also made clear that he plans for the peaceful hosting of the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics to lead not only to inter-Korean dialogue but also to talks between North Korea and the US aimed at resolving the North Korean nuclear issue.

“For the past two years, lines of communication between North and South Korea were completely severed, which left us with no way to deal with an unexpected crisis situation. But now the communication channel has been restored; North Korea will attend the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics through inter-Korean dialogue; and I also intend to create an opportunity for developing inter-Korean relations,” Moon said.

“President Trump also expressed his full support for inter-Korean dialogue and agreed to delay the military exercises until after the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. On top of that, he promised to send a high-ranking delegation, including his own family members to Pyeongchang. This is because he not only wishes the success of the Pyeongchang Olympics but also supports inter-Korean dialogue and believes that, if this goes well, it could create the conditions for dialogue between North Korea and the US,” Moon said. This indicates that the US is also preparing for the possibility of major change during the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, such as the path opening for dialogue with the North.

“I will strive to make the Pyeongchang Olympics the ‘Peace Olympics’ and furthermore to peacefully resolve the North Korean nuclear issue so that this can be a year when peace is cultivated on the Korean Peninsula,” Moon added.

The plan for peace on the Korean Peninsula outlined by Moon would proceed as follows: peacefully hosting the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, easing inter-Korean tensions through organizing reunions for the families divided by the Korean War, arranging dialogue between North Korea and the US and resolving the North Korean nuclear issue.

“We won’t be working on the assumption that we’re paving the way for dialogue between North Korea and the US,” a senior official at the Blue House acknowledged. But the official added that “We believe that inter-Korean dialogue can help set the mood for dialogue between North Korea and the US.”

By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter

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