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Former President Moon Jae-in speaks at an event marking the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Pyongyang Joint Declaration of September 2018 held at the 63 Building in Seoul’s Yeongdeungpo District on Sept. 19. (pool photo)

“It’s very saddening and disturbing to think of the current impasse in inter-Korean relations, an impasse that’s worse than ever before. Considering that our economy depends upon keeping the peace, the economy alone is reason enough to quickly take up the baton from the Sept. 19 Pyongyang Declaration,” former South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Tuesday.

“The quicker that impasse is resolved, the less likelihood of a military crisis on the Korean Peninsula,” Moon said in his welcome address at an event commemorating the fifth anniversary of the signing of the Sept. 19 Pyongyang Declaration. The event was held at the 63 Building in Yeouido, Seoul, on Tuesday afternoon.

This was the first time Moon has delivered a public address at an official event in Seoul since leaving office.

The Sept. 19 Pyongyang Declaration, which was concluded by Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in 2018, detailed plans for cooperation in five areas, including denuclearization (closing the Tongchang engine testing site), the military (ceasing hostile activities between the two sides), and the economy (developing a special economic zone off the west coast of Korea).

“When the outmoded and confrontational Cold War ideology has pervaded Korean society, our relay race often gets suspended for a while. The Pyongyang Declaration will bear fruit in the form of a more advanced inter-Korean agreement when a future administration that values peace over Cold War ideology picks that baton back up,” Moon said.

While he didn’t refer specifically to President Yoon Suk-yeol, Moon was effectively slamming the current government for the North Korea policy that it swiftly adopted after Yoon’s inauguration. That new policy’s obsession with the “outmoded and confrontational Cold War ideology” has devastated inter-Korean relations, Moon implied.

Moon spoke of the need to restore balance to Korea’s foreign policy.

“It’s when inter-Korean relations are peaceful and Seoul takes a balanced approach in balanced diplomacy with its neighbors that the ‘Korea risk’ is reduced and our export-oriented economy flourishes. We need a nuanced diplomatic strategy that maintains balance while still prioritizing the alliance [with the US],” the former president said.

That amounts to criticism of the Yoon administration’s proclamation of “freedom” in its “values-oriented” foreign policy, which prioritizes a common front with the US and Japan.

Moon also stressed the need to maintain the Comprehensive Military Agreement, a landmark inter-Korean military accord signed at the same time as the Pyongyang Declaration, that Yoon administration officials have openly talked about scrapping.

“Scrapping the Comprehensive Military Agreement is a foolhardy act that would remove the last safeguard. The agreement must be maintained and complied with as long as possible to prevent the worst-case scenario as we seek a way to resume dialogue,” he said.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

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