N. Korea’s hints at ICBM, nuke tests leave Blue House at a loss

Posted on : 2022-01-21 16:45 KST Modified on : 2022-01-21 17:02 KST
Moon has only months left in office to salvage his administration’s Korean Peninsula peace process
During a parade held in Pyongyang on Oct. 10, 2020, to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea, North Korea unveiled a new ICBM that could reach the US mainland. This image, aired on Korean Central Television, shows the new ICBM was longer than its Hwasong-15 with a thicker diameter. A transporter erector launcher sporting 22 wheels carried the new ICBM. (Yonhap News)
During a parade held in Pyongyang on Oct. 10, 2020, to mark the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party of Korea, North Korea unveiled a new ICBM that could reach the US mainland. This image, aired on Korean Central Television, shows the new ICBM was longer than its Hwasong-15 with a thicker diameter. A transporter erector launcher sporting 22 wheels carried the new ICBM. (Yonhap News)

The Blue House shared a cautious response to North Korea’s message Thursday hinting that it might resume nuclear weapon and intercontinental ballistic missile testing.

For now, the Blue House said it would be “closely observing” the situation. But signs could also be detected of concern that the Korean Peninsula peace process, which the Moon Jae-in administration has been presenting as one of its major achievements, could fall by the wayside.

A Blue House senior official said Thursday that the presidential office was “carefully observing recent developments in North Korea.” The remarks did not include any direct mention of Pyongyang’s announcement that it would consider resuming tests of nuclear weapons and ICBMs, which was shared in the announcement the same day of results from a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee.

The same official said that Seoul would remain “in close discussions with the relevant countries to prepare for the possibility of additional developments in the situation.” The response was consistent in tone with its responses to previous ballistic missile launches by North Korea this year.

For now, the Blue House is reading the announcement as a message to Washington, with Pyongyang’s allusion in the pages of the Rodong Sinmun to the possibility of ending its moratorium on nuclear and ICBMs coming on the first anniversary of Joe Biden’s inauguration as US president.

The Blue House appears likely to focus on managing the situation to ensure Pyongyang’s words do not translate into concrete action.

“The government is likely to continue managing the situation while sending a general message,” said one expert on North Korea-related issues.

Amid continued missile tests by the North this year, the Blue House has tempered its response, using terms such as “deep regret” while refraining from more antagonistic references to “provocations.”

But Blue House insiders signaled serious concerns that the Korean Peninsula peace process — a focus of major effort by the Moon administration — faces the threat of falling apart.

While no progress has been achieved in relations among South and North Korea and the US since the collapse of the second North Korea-US summit in Hanoi in February 2019, Seoul has been touting the stability of the Korean Peninsula situation as an accomplishment, with no nuclear weapon or ICBM testing by North Korea since.

Indeed, Moon has few options for turning the tide beyond simply managing the situation. On Thursday, he shared written interview responses with Al-Ahram, a government-run newspaper in Egypt, which the South Korean President is currently visiting.

“Unfortunately, the situation is currently dormant, which indicates that establishing peace is not easy,” he was quoted as saying, attributing this to the fact that “the road to peace is yet unpaved.”

That interview took place before North Korea’s announcement. But in light of the recent situation on the Korean Peninsula and actions by Pyongyang, Moon’s response also read as signaling his complex feelings about the difficulties of achieving practical results with his efforts to establish peace, including his emphasis on accomplishing a declaration officially ending the Korean War by the end of his term.

By Lee Wan, staff reporter

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