BOSTON, Massachusetts: South Koreas President Moon Jae-ins appointment of new national security advisers has attracted attention, given their pro-detente stance in spite of North Koreas latest provocations.
The incoming team has rolled out an ambitious agenda to break the stalemate between the North and South – Moons new security adviser Im Jeong-seok has urged more city-to-city exchange cooperation projects, while new Unification Minister Lee In-young has proposed a barter between the two Koreas to work around international sanctions.
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Lee also said he would not hesitate to meet North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un to resume talks.
Unfortunately, even as these advisers try to come up with “new and creative” solutions to build inter-Korean trust, they may not accomplish their goal.
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CONSTRAINED BY THE US
The United States has long constrained Moons outreach to the North to ensure that Moons peace talks do not stray too far from US denuclearisation goals. This is achieved via intra-alliance consultation measures, the most notable of these being the “US-South Korea working group”.
This working group was created in November 2018 after a series of high-profile summits, including US President Donald Trumps meeting with Kim in Singapore and Moons own direct talks with the North.
On the US side, the group is made up of Special Envoy for North Korea Stephen Biegun and officials from the State Department, Treasury and White House National Security Council.
The South Korean side is led by Lee Do-hoon, special representative for Korean Peninsula Peace and Security Affairs, along with officials from the Foreign Ministry, Unification Ministry and the Blue House National Security Office.
US Deputy Secretary of State Stephen Biegun walks with his South Korean counterpart Lee Do-hoon after their meeting at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul, South Korea, Jul 8, 2020. (Photo: REUTERS/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool)
Washington and Seoul pledged the group would meet regularly, both in person and via video conference, and the group has met at least six times.
The intended aim of the working group was to focus coordinating efforts to achieve “the final, fully verified denuclearisation” of North Korea. Yet the outcome has been essentially to limit Seouls policy options with Pyongyang.
READ: Commentary: Another Trump-Kim summit will achieve little yet again
INTERFERING WITH SEOULS INITIATIVES?
Before its establishment, some in South Korea were worried that the group might increase US interference in Seouls North Korea policy, given the two sides of the alliance are not on an equal footing. This concern prompted special representative Lee to assure that the consultations would be “two-way”.
Yet South Korea soon voiced concern that the group was more occupied with determining whether South Koreas initiatives with the North violated sanctions, rather than coordinating the two allies policies.
Recent media reports suggest the working group blocked a plan by the South Korean government to send 200,000 doses of antiviral Tamiflu to the North, for fear that such a move would violate sanctions. The group is also accused of interfering with South Koreas efforts to reconnect railways and roads, as well as other joint Korean projects.
READ: Commentary: South Korea will outperform many developed economies in this coronavirus downturn
One of the more contentious episodes involving the group unfolded earlier this year, when Moon proposed resumption of independent tourism to North Korea, only for US ambassador to South Korea Harry Harris to remind Moon of the working group.
Harris said Seoul “should take this idea they have and run it through the working group”. Amid local complaints, the US State Department issued a statement insisting that Harris respected South Koreas sovereignty.
CRITICISM FROM SOUTH KOREAN OFFICIALS
Still, former government officials in South Korea have openly questioned whether the working group is hindering efforts to improve inter-Korean relations.
FILE PHOTO: South Korean President Moon Jae-in (right) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un shake hands at the truce village of Panmunjom inside the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas on Apr 27, 2018. (Korea Summit Press Pool/Pool via Reuters)
Ex-unification minister Jeong Se-hyun called for the group to be “disbanded”, while Moons former chief of staff Im Jong-seok said nothing could pass the working group unless WasRead More – Source
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