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Blue House National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong (left) pledges allegiance to the South Korean flag before a Blue House Cabinet meeting on June 23. (photo pool)

The ball is now in South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s court. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s move on June 23 in taking center stage and issuing a decision to “suspend” military actions against the South is a signal that he intends to wait and see the response from Moon. It’s an answer that could come in the composition of the South Korean President’s new foreign affairs and national security lineup.

“President Moon remains unswerving in his commitment to improving inter-Korean relations. It’s not a matter of ‘whether or not’ to replace the foreign affairs and national security lineup, but one of ‘when and with whom,’” a Blue House senior official said on June 24. This indicates plans to demonstrate the commitment to improving inter-Korean relations with a full-scale shakeup including not only the position of the unification minister -- recently vacated by Kim Yeon-chul -- but also those of National Intelligence Service (NIS) director and Blue House National Security Office director. For Moon as well, the Korean Peninsula peace process has been a signal achievement over the past three years, producing three inter-Korean summits and two North Korea-US summits. According to sources, he has kept his recent schedule to a minimum as he ponders whom to include in his foreign affairs and national security team.

The question is who has the potential to usher inter-Korean and North Korea-US relations out of their current quagmire. Democratic Party lawmaker and former floor leader Lee In-young has been mentioned frequently as a candidate for the unification minister, while current NIS Director Suh Hoon has been mentioned for National Security Office director. But Moon has reportedly been giving close consideration to whether his commitment to improving inter-Korean relations will come through clearly. In particular, he is struggling to find a successor for Suh as NIS director, sources said. Some ruling party observers have pointed to former Presidential Chief of Staff Lim Jong-seok as a possibility, but one drawback would be the intense campaign anticipated from the political opposition during the hearing process. Lim himself is reportedly leaning more toward the position of special presidential advisor for unification, foreign affairs and national security, which would afford him more room to maneuver.

Another factor compounding the considerations for Moon is time. Kim Jong-un merely said he was “suspending” military activities, without closing the door to the possibility of them being resumed at some point. It’s a situation where too much contemplation of the appointment issue could lead to a missed opportunity. Moon has recently expressed disappointment several times over the inability to take active steps to improve inter-Korean relations as Seoul waits for relations to improve between Pyongyang and Washington. For this reason, some observers are predicting he may attempt to hasten his selections for his foreign affairs and national security team.

By Seong Yeon-cheol, Blue House correspondent

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