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| President Moon Jae-in, second from right, holds a meeting with former unification ministers and foreign affairs experts at Cheong Wa Dae, Wednesday. At right, former unification minister and former chief of the National Intelligence Service Lim Dong-won listens as Moon speaks. A key architect of former President Kim Dae-jung's (DJ) Sunshine Policy of engagement with North Korea, Lim prepared for the first inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang in June 2000 with former President Kim. Lim and the DJ are known to have prepared for the June 15 Declaration, which marked its 20th anniversary this week, on the basis of the spirit of the Romans 12:17~21. The famous verses from the New Testament encourages people to live in peace with everyone and not repay anyone 'evil for evil," but rather "overcome evil with good."/Yonhap |
By Do Je-hae
Public outcry is rising over Cheong Wa Dae and the government's assessment of circumstances surrounding Pyongyang's hostile acts, the latest of which was demolition of an inter-Korean liaison office in Gaeseong on Tuesday.
Calls are also increasing for the replacement of President Moon Jae-in's national security team in the wake of the destruction of the symbolic building for inter-Korean cooperation.
Cheong Wa Dae had trumpeted the office as one of the key outcomes of the April 27 Panmunjeom Declaration in 2018, signed by Moon and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their first summit on the South's side of the Joint Security Area (JSA). The latest act is virtually seen as the North's attempt to scrap the declaration.
Many South Koreans are baffled at the government and Cheong Wa Dae's activities just before the destruction of the building ― which implied they failed to detect any unusual signs involving the office.
A senior presidential official was giving a briefing at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday that had started around 2:20 p.m. and lasted about 25 minutes. Despite rising tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the senior aide made surprising remarks that seemed to insinuate hopes for further talks with North Korea, including a possible resumption of summit diplomacy between the leaders of the two Koreas. "Of course, our proposal for a fourth summit is still valid," the aide said at the briefing.
Around the time the briefing ended, Pyongyang blew up the office ― at 2:49 p.m.
What is considered even more problematic is national security adviser Chung Eui-yong's whereabouts. He was participating in a ceremony for five new Korean ambassadors at Cheong Wa Dae that started at 3 p.m. with President Moon.
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| National security adviser Chung Eui-yong, left, and President Moon Jae-in arrives at a ceremony for new Korean ambassadors at Cheong Wa Dae, Tuesday. Yonhap |
Cheong Wa Dae held a National Security Council (NSC) meeting presided over by Chung about two hours after the explosion. But given the gravity of the situation, some experts said the President should have presided. Another NSC meeting was held Wednesday morning, but the President did not participate in this one either, according to the presidential office.
Criticism of Moon's national security and diplomatic teams is increasing because of their failure to prevent inter-Korean ties from dropping to their worst level since the beginning of the current administration.
Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul has also been criticized for ill-timed remarks regarding the North. When the North blew up the office, he was participating in a National Assembly session.
When lawmakers said the government should have more actively pushed inter-Korean projects that did not break international sanctions, he said South Koreans' individual tours to the North would have been possible if it had not been for COVID-19 ― although Pyongyang has never responded to Seoul's continuous calls allowing for individual travel.
Kim, taking responsibility for deteriorating inter-Korean relations, offered to resign Wednesday. "I'm sorry for not living up to the expectations and demands from the people who wish for peace and prosperity of the Korean Peninsula," he said.
There have been criticisms from the beginning of the Moon administration about the lack of expertise regarding North Korea among key members of the President's national security and foreign affairs teams.
Chung is a career diplomat whose tenure at the foreign ministry mostly involved trade. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, whose primary background is in international organizations, has also had doubts raised about her capacity to deal with North Korea.
The main opposition United Future Party is calling on Moon to replace his team dealing with North Korea.
"President Moon should reconsider his North Korea policy and hold his diplomatic and national security team accountable for the current situation," Rep. Cho Tae-yong, a former first director of the presidential national security office during the Park Geun-hye administration, said during a UFP meeting at the National Assembly, Tuesday.
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| Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, right, arrives at Cheong Wa Dae for a ceremony for new Korean envoys, Wednesday. The foreign minister has received accolades in recent months for promoting Korea's paragon response to the COVID-19 in the international community. Despite the unique strengths that set the former UN senior official apart from her predecessors, calls are rising for the President to change some key members of his diplomatic team, particularly those that have been with him since the onset of the administration. Kang is Moon's first foreign minister./Yonhap |
Cheong Wa Dae is being cautious about mentioning a possible reshuffle of the Cabinet or the national security office. "We are not able to talk specifically about the appointments and dismissals," a presidential aide told reporters, Wednesday.
To seek advice on how to tackle the crisis with North Korea, Moon held a meeting Wednesday afternoon with Moon Chung-in, a special advisor to the President for foreign affairs and national security, and other experts including former unification minister Lim Dong-won.
The meeting was urgently arranged by the presidential office and announced to reporters after it was over around 2 p.m. The presidential office declined to elaborate immediately on the details of Moon's remarks during the meeting.
A key architect of former President Kim Dae-jung's (DJ) Sunshine Policy of engagement with North Korea, Lim was at the center of preparations for the first inter-Korean summit in Pyongyang in June 2000 with former President Kim in his capacity as the chief of the National Intelligence Service.
Lim and the DJ are known to have prepared for the landmark June 15 Declaration, which marked its 20th anniversary this week, on the basis of spirit of the Romans 12:17~21. The famous verses from the New Testament encourages people to live in peace with everyone and not repay anyone "evil for evil," but rather "overcome evil with good."
"The President expressed regret about current situation," Park Jie-won, chief of staff to former President Kim, veteran lawmaker and chair professor at Dankook University, wrote in a Facebook message after the lunch with Moon.
"The President has a full grasp of the situation and underlined the need for perseverance and U.S.-North Korea talks to overcome the crisis following comments from the participants."
