hankyoreh

On Thursday, President Lee Myung-bak spoke on foreign affairs, national security and unification and said it is insufficient for these areas to engage the new international environment with the “ideas of the past” and called for a change in South Korea’s paradigm of thinking.

Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) spokesperson Kim Eun-hye reported that at a 2010 joint briefing with the Ministry of Unification, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Ministry of National Defense held at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses held in Seoul’s Dongdaemun District on Dec. 31, President Lee called for a shift in thinking from public officials.

Analysts are saying that “ideas of the past” is a reference to the previous Roh administration and not ideas from the first two years of the Lee administration. According to Spokesperson Kim, President Lee had said, “We have undergone many changes in foreign affairs, national security and defense, and I feel very positive about this because we are proceeding with a new paradigm.”

President Lee also reportedly said, “I believe we are successfully paving the way for advancements in inter-Korean relations.” Analysts are interpreting his statement is an indication of Lee’s belief that the ministries have done a good job to date, and that he wants them to continue on using the same approach.

The content of the three ministries’ policy reports were summarized as “maintaining and strengthening the current policy approach.” The problem with the situation, according to observers, is that despite the presentation of grandiose mid- to long-term visions, there have been no noticeable signs of plans for breakthroughs in the current stalemate in inter-Korean relations or the rapidly changing political situation in Northeast Asia.

Some analysts say the Unification Ministry's operational plan shows signs of being more intransigent than that implemented in the previous two years. First on its list of nine priority tasks was “a historic shift in the North Korean nuclear issue, indicating that it was effectively going “all in” on that issue. However, no concrete plan has been presented in reference to the possibility of restarting the Mt. Kumkang tourism project, which could provide a realistic starting point for improving inter-Korean relations. Instead of progress in inter-Korean relations and related cooperation efforts, the Unification Ministry has merely reiterated concerns about guaranteeing the certain physical safety of South Korean citizens. In addition, the Unification Ministry has announced an emphasis on “productive humanitarianism” and that it will be releasing funds from the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund, for “private groups with the appropriate capacity” for the sole purpose of providing aid for disease prevention and emergency aid items.

Excluded from funding support are cooperative efforts that had previously been funded to assist in development necessary to strengthen North Koreans’ self-sufficiency. Observers say this means the Unification Ministry will be providing only minimal humanitarian aid in 2010 as well. Large-scale government food aid has been linked to the issues of South Korean POWs and abductees in North Korea and blocked. Unification Minister Hyun In-taek said, “Since they are connected with each other, we feel they can be discussed on the same track.” Hyun also said that dialogue at any level, including at the highest level, with North Korea is possible if it is about shared prosperity and development for South Korea and North Korea. He added, “We are open to the possibility of a summit meeting.”

According to experts, the policy report from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade utilized very particular rhetoric and used terms like “achieving a mature global state” and “enhancing national prestige,” while conveying little sense of the tension or concern about the current situation on the Korean peninsula. Although 2009 saw major upheavals in Northeast Asia that involve the continued rise of China, increased cooperation between China and the U.S., a new Democratic Party of Japan administration in Japan producing subsequent changes in the U.S.-Japan alliance and greater cooperation between China and Japan, the Foreign Ministry gave no indication of its response to these regional changes. It also failed to present its preparations for the upcoming April 2010 Global Nuclear Security Summit in the U.S. or the upcoming May 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, both of which will have a major effect on the North Korean nuclear issue.

The Foreign Ministry did, however, indicate its goals for increasing its role in the international community as part of its strategy of global diplomacy, and made reference to increasing its participation in United Nations peacekeeping operations (PKOs) to around 1,000 troops in the mid- to long term. If PKO participation is increased, the principal areas of activity are likely to be troubled regions in Africa such as Sudan. As of November, South Korea had 401 troops participating in PKOs in areas of conflict such as Lebanon, which placed it at 39th among U.N. member states in troop contributions.

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