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It is good for Moon, Trump to meet at opportune time
President Moon Jae-in plans to hold talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in New York City on the sidelines of the 74th General Assembly of the United Nations from Sept. 22 to 26.
It is good that the leaders of the two countries have agreed to meet at such an opportune time because their decades-old alliance is now facing a crucial test.
What makes the summit more important is the possibility that the stalled nuclear talks between the U.S. and North Korea could soon resume finally. Last week, the North's Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui proposed resuming working-level talks in late September. Trump also said he was willing to meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un again late this year. Additionally, Kim must be happy about Trump's dismissal of John Bolton as national security adviser last week.
Moon and Trump are expected to discuss a wide range of other issues, including concerns about a possible rift in the alliance stemming from Seoul's recent decision to terminate sharing military intelligence with Tokyo. Considering U.S. unhappiness with this decision, it is important for Moon to seek Washington's understanding that it was a strategic decision South Korea made as a sovereign nation to protect its interests from Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Japan.
What is equally important is to make the U.S. understand that security cooperation between Seoul and Tokyo will remain fragile if the latter remains unrepentant about what it did during its occupation of Korea from 1910-45.
If a summit between Moon and Abe takes place in New York late this month, it could be a good sign for the normalization of bilateral relations. But this appears to be very unlikely considering their current positions. It is becoming more important for the U.S. to mediate in the row.
The Moon-Trump meeting may also mark an important moment in negotiations over the planned transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON) of Korean forces in wartime from the U.S. to South Korea. The allies are reportedly at odds over the role of the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC) after the transfer. Media reports show the U.S. has maintained that the UNC should be allowed to control South Korean forces in contingencies because its primary role is to maintain the armistice on the Korean Peninsula. From South Korea's standpoint, this is unacceptable.
Under the Moon administration, South Korea has increased its defense budget considerably to buy more sophisticated U.S. weapons and enhance the nation's wartime combat posture. President Moon wants to complete the wartime OPCON takeover before his term ends in May 2022.
Trump's biggest concern for the alliance may remain unchanged ― the defense cost issue. He is expected to use the summit with Moon to increase pressure on South Korea to pay more for the stationing of U.S. troops here.
