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| Unification Minister Lee In-young speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Seoul, Thursday. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
Unification minister urges North Korea not to miss out on 'golden time'
By Kang Seung-woo
It is the right time to declare an end to the Korean War, as an unprecedentedly favorable environment for the implementation of the declaration has been set up among relevant countries, according to Unification Minister Lee In-young.
In this regard, he also believes the first half of the year could be a "golden time" to make strides in frayed inter-Korean ties and stalled nuclear negotiations between North Korea and the United States, citing a heap of political events in the second half of the year that could disrupt efforts toward Pyongyang-related issues.
Strongly believing such an agreement could serve as a catalyst for negotiations on the denuclearization of North Korea, President Moon Jae-in resurrected his proposal of declaring a formal end to the 1950-53 conflict in a speech at the United Nations last September.
Since then, South Korean and U.S. diplomats have been meeting frequently with each other to discuss the proposal, while National Security Director Suh Hoon also drew support from China following a meeting with top Chinese diplomat Yang Jiechi in December.
Additionally, accompanied by positive responses from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his powerful sister Kim Yo-jong, President Moon said the four relevant parties have agreed, in principle, to an end-of-war declaration.
The Korean War ended in an armistice between North Korean and Chinese forces and the U.S.-led United Nations Command (UNC), leaving the war technically still ongoing.
"It has been some 20 years since the idea of an end-of-war declaration was first floated, but now is the first time that all four related countries ― South and North Korea, the U.S. and China ― have agreed 'in principle' and shown positive responses to an end-of-war declaration," Lee said in an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Seoul, Thursday.
"The issue had been mentioned separately by those countries over the years, but since the President's proposal in September, all the relevant parties have concurred on the declaration in principle and in theory," he added.
"In that respect, it is the best time to pursue the end-of-war declaration."
In response to Moon's proposal, Kim Yo-jong described the end-of-war declaration as an "admirable idea," followed by Kim Jong-un who said he did not oppose the declaration itself, although both have urged South Korea and the U.S. to drop their "double-dealing" attitude and hostile policy toward their country first. However, the reclusive state has since remained unresponsive to the matter.
The lasting silence is fueling speculation that Seoul and Washington should offer something to entice North Korea into responding to the end-of-war issue, and the suspension of combined military drills and partial sanctions relief are being mentioned as possible incentives among others.
However, the minister said the end-of-war declaration itself is one of the options available to resolve hostility between South and North Korea and between the U.S. and North Korea.
"The precondition that North Korea has consistently wanted before returning to talks is for South Korea and the U.S. to withdraw their hostile policy," Lee said.
"In that respect, the end-of-war declaration could be a step in the direction toward ending hostile relations between them, and that is why the South Korean government is pursuing the declaration, which could be a gateway to the denuclearization of North Korea."
Some who are critical of South Korea's drive for the end-of-war declaration say it would undermine and destabilize the security situation on the Korean Peninsula by paving the way for the withdrawal of the U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) and the dismantlement of the UNC.
Describing these concerns as a "distorted perception," Lee said even if the end-of-war declaration is signed, the future of the USFK and the U.S.-led UNC along with the alliance between South Korea and the U.S. will not be legally affected.
"I have repeatedly explained that the end-of-war declaration is a significant measure to build confidence between South and North Korea and the U.S., which means that any military changes linked to the USFK or the UNC are not under consideration in our goal and pursuit of the declaration," the minister said.
"Rather, even if the peace treaty is signed and, furthermore, North Korea and the U.S. establish diplomatic ties, the upkeep of American troops here is an issue between South Korea and the U.S. and it has nothing to do with the end-of-war declaration."
He added: "Such concerns are a misunderstanding."
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| Unification Minister Lee In-young poses during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Seoul, Thursday. The left picture behind him represents Chonji, the crater lake of Mount Paektu in North Korea, and the right one describes Baengnokdam, the crater lake of Mount Halla on Jeju Island in South Korea. Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul |
Cross-border relations saw their heyday in 2018 as evidenced by three inter-Korean summits, but soured after the Hanoi summit between North Korea and the U.S. failed to reach a nuclear deal in February 2019. Despite repeated calls from Seoul and Washington for dialogue, Pyongyang has remained silent on the overtures.
While saying that inter-Korean ties are at a crossroads over whether to once again take the road of reconciliation and cooperation or tension and confrontation, the minister said the first six months of 2022 would be the best time to improve bilateral relations and furthermore get the deadlocked nuclear negotiations back on track.
"Entering the second half, the geopolitical situation surrounding the peninsula could see increased uncertainties, which could leave the North Korea issue low on the agenda. The U.S. will hold its midterm elections, while Chinese President Xi Jinping is expected to seek a third term in power," Lee said.
The minister also said the U.S. and North Korea will not be able to sit back and maintain the status quo, so they may seek to take action, which may also fuel uncertainty.
"In particular, following the South's presidential election in March, the uncertainties could further loom large. So I believe that it will be highly desirable that some changes should be made in the first half," he added.
On Wednesday, North Korea test-launched what it called a hypersonic missile. During its fourth Plenary Meeting of the eighth Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party at the end of last year, its leader made few references to foreign policy and relations with South Korea in his de facto New Year speech. Consequently, the events are sparking conjecture that Pyongyang is apathetic about mending ties with Seoul.
"I am worried that North Korea test-fired a missile at a critical moment for peace on the peninsula. This is when the North needs to consider resuming talks rather than firing missiles," he said.
When it comes to the North Korean leader's de facto New Year speech at the plenary meeting, the minister added that it was neither positive nor negative.
"He refrained from using belligerent rhetoric, which was not bad, but his failure to deliver a message indicative of resuming talks is something that we cannot assess positively," Lee said.
The minister expressed regret that momentum for inter-Korean cooperation has been lost due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Besides the no-deal summit in Hanoi, the coronavirus has significantly restricted chances of talks and negotiations among the two Koreas and the U.S.," he said. "Without the virus situation, we may have had more channels to try to resume talks and more chances for it."
