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Former Blue House Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok. (Hankyoreh archives)

ormer Blue House Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok said that if the South Korean government hopes to resolve the current impasse in inter-Korean relations, it should “stop simply watching the US” and actively seek measures it can put into practice. He also said he would be willing to take on whatever political role is needed for the advancement of inter-Korean relations.

In a conversation in the summer issue of the Changbi Quarterly released on May 22, Im said, “If no progress is made between North Korea and the US this year, then either the government or the private sector is going to need to work very quickly and deeply on developing the best plan in terms of what we need to do.”

“As far as President Moon Jae-in is concerned, he should continue communicating with the US if no progress is made, but he should also come up with and implement things even if there is some opposition,” he added.

Commenting on the factors behind the impasse in inter-Korean relations following a North Korea-US summit in Hanoi in February 2019, Im lamented, “South and North Korea should have more actively implemented the terms of their bilateral agreement, but they didn’t do that.”

“Even if the North Korea-US talks were decisive in terms of the Korean Peninsula’s denuclearization and establishment of a peace regime, the issues that South and North Korea have to resolve should have been pursued intensively rather than being put off until later or treated as secondary,” he continued.

Im further stressed the need for a fourth inter-Korean summit.

“The day after the second inter-Korean summit on May 26 [of 2018], President Moon talked about it being like ‘popping over to a neighbor’s house.’ That sort of thing, where they meet any time that a summit is needed, is what needs to be practiced now,” he said.

“We can’t afford to sit around and wait for a reciprocal visit by [North Korean leader] Kim Jong-un,” he added.

Commenting on his own plans, Im said, “I’d like to play some political role as changes arrive in inter-Korean issues.”

“If that needs to be in the area of institutional politics, I’ll be upfront about it.”

By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter

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