Special presidential advisor says inter-Korean cooperation could encourage North’s denuclearization

Posted on : 2019-04-19 16:58 KST Modified on : 2019-04-19 16:58 KST
Experts at conference to celebrate Panmunjom Declaration weigh in on ways for revamping talks
Moon Chung-in
Moon Chung-in

“We need to examine forms of inter-Korean economic cooperation that are possible within the current framework without violating UN Security Council sanctions or independent US sanctions.”

Moon Chung-in, the special presidential advisor for unification, foreign affairs, and national security, suggested that inter-Korean cooperation could offer a way of encouraging North Korea’s denuclearization. His remarks came on the afternoon of Apr. 17 in a conference at the Westin Chosun Hotel in Seoul’s Jung (Central) district on the topic “Results and Future Tasks for the First Anniversary of the April 27 Panmunjom Declaration,” which was organized to commemorate the 28th anniversary of the Korean Institute for National Unification.

“[North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un said in his Supreme People’s Assembly policy speech on [Apr. 12] that we need to be a ‘responsible party that defends the interests of the nation,’” Moon noted.

“He’s saying we should implement the Panmunjom and Pyongyang declarations and resume operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mt. Kumgang without worrying too much about the US. The president [Moon Jae-in] would like nothing more than that, but there are sanctions in place and certain aspects that are difficult for the administration to move on,” he added.

Moon went on to say, “There are certain conditions with the US’ independent sanctions such as secondary boycott provisions that are hurting South Korean companies, even if they aren’t violating UN Security Council sanctions.”

“I think a starting point may be to do what the president has said: cooperate as much as possible within the sanctions framework, which may not satisfy North Korea but will show our good faith,” he said.

“If this encourages North Korea’s denuclearization and leads it to take concrete steps to denuclearize, [South Korea] may be able to talk about resuming operations at the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mt. Kumgang,” he suggested.

In his New Year’s address on Jan. 1, Kim Jong-un said the North was “willing to reopen the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mt Kumgang tourism.” He also said sent a message in his policy speech on Apr. 12 emphasizing the South Korean government’s role as a “responsible party that defends the interests of the [Korean] nation.” His remarks could be read as calling on Seoul to commit more efforts to achieving a breakthrough in terms of inter-Korean cooperation.

At the same conference, Koo Kab-woo, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, discussed the concept of the “South Korean trilemma.” The terms refers to the dilemma that Seoul finds itself facing in its pursuit of the three roles given to it in the process of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and establishing a peace regime – namely the simultaneous achievement of denuclearization, a peace regime, and the continuation of the South Korea-US alliance. Identifying the “lack of a conscientious mediator” as a “particularity of the Korean Peninsula peace process,” Koo stressed, “South Korea is obliged to play the roles of interest party, mediator, and ‘orchestrator.’”

Echoing Koo’s comments, Moon Chung-in observed that South and North Korea “face considerable difficulties in terms of all three axes: the peace regime, denuclearization, and the South Korea-US alliance.”

“The South Korean public wants North Korea’s denuclearization and the arrival of peace on the Korean Peninsula with the South Korea-US alliance kept in place. The South Korean government’s dilemma is also a three-way dilemma for the public,” he said.

Moon went on to say that there was “a path open to us if we are committed to it.”

“I think that if President [Donald] Trump visits South Korea this May or June, it might be possible to have North Korea-US dialogue as well,” he said.

“There is some uncertainty at this transitional moment, but we need to take an optimistic view of the future,” he continued, stressing the need for patience in resolving Korean Peninsula issues.

US’ current approach is unrealistic and calls for N. Korea’s complete surrender

Kim Joon-hyung, a professor at Handong Global University who moderated a discussion at the conference, stressed the need for a “new security framework” to resolve the current issues surrounding the Korean Peninsula.

“The kind of ‘final, fully verifiable denuclearization [FFVD]’ or ‘complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearization [CVID]’ that the US is talking about is a matter of completely disarming North Korea, effectively treating it as the loser,” Kim explained.

“This is especially true with calls for abandoning even its intermediate- and short-range missiles,” he noted.

Kim argued that the South Korean government “should talk to the US and try to change it and get it to trust North Korea.”

“This approach of saying ‘the US may be able to offer [sanctions relief] if the North abandons these things first’ doesn’t seem to be the right one,” he said.

By Noh Ji-won, staff reporter

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