Unification Ministry refuses to attend Foreign Ministry’s N. Korea talks with US

South Korea and the United States on Tuesday held "ROK-US Consultations on Joint Fact Sheet Implementation." ROK stands for Republic of Korea, which is the official name for South Korea.

The consultations were follow-up discussions for coordination on the two countries' North Korea policy based on the recently released South Korea-US summit joint fact sheet.

However, officials from South Korea’s Ministry of Unification handling inter-Korean affairs did not attend.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs first characterized the talks as “regular South Korea-US consultations on North Korea policy,” but later changed the wording, seemingly in response to the Unification Ministry’s refusal to participate and its opposition to a Foreign Ministry-driven North Korea policy dialogue.

A day earlier, the Unification Ministry argued that the Foreign Ministry's push for regular North Korea policy consultations could evolve into a Korea-US working group, formed under former President Moon Jae-in, that it said had impeded inter-Korean cooperation.

The ministry added that it would pursue direct consultations with the US, independent of the Foreign Ministry if necessary, on North Korea policy issues. The Unification Ministry effectively declared it would bypass the Foreign Ministry.

It is troubling that the rift between the two ministries appears to have crossed a line.

On Dec. 9, the Foreign Ministry unveiled plans to hold consultations with the US on North Korea policy. The next day, Unification Minister Chung Dong-young objected, saying such issues should be handled by the Unification Ministry as the primary interlocutor with the US.

A confrontation reminiscent of the Roh Moo-hyun era appears to be resurfacing under the Lee Jae Myung administration. It pits the “self-reliance” camp, anchored by the Unification Ministry and its emphasis on inter-Korean relations, against the “alliance” faction, led by the Foreign Ministry and focused on the alliance with the US.

All six former Unification Ministers from the left-leaning Roh and Moon administrations issued a joint statement Monday opposing US-South Korea consultations on North Korea policy that the Foreign Ministry would hold.

The statement said that the Foreign Ministry adopted a more negative and conservative stance than the US government when the Kaesong industrial park was under construction and discussions were underway over easing sanctions against North Korea. On that basis, it argued that North Korea policy should not be left to the Foreign Ministry, which it said lacks both an understanding of inter-Korean relations and the required expertise.

The Unification Ministry and the former unification ministers argue that Foreign Ministry-led regular consultations with the US on North Korea policy could obstruct progress in inter-Korean relations while further tightening sanctions on the North.

However, the working-group consultations launched in November 2018 under the Moon administration — later suspended in 2021 amid criticism from the left — played constructive roles, including narrowing policy gaps between Seoul and Washington while allowing inter-Korean cooperation to proceed within sanctions limits.

Early on, a view emerged that the incumbent Korean government's diplomatic and security posture was divided between "alliance" and "self-reliance." However, seeing that conflict spill into the open is another matter.

The Foreign Ministry has long taken the lead in consultations with the US on North Korea issues. It makes little sense to split diplomacy and inter-Korean affairs into separate channels in bilateral talks between Seoul and Washington. South Korea has a Ministry of Unification, but there is no corresponding department in the United States.

North Korea's nuclear weapons are central to Korean Peninsula issues. That is both an inter-Korean concern and a diplomatic challenge demanding close coordination with the US and the international community.

Contacts and exchanges with North Korea fall under the Unification Ministry, but dealings with the US should be conducted through the Foreign Ministry. It is hard to see the rationale for the Unification Ministry bypassing the Foreign Ministry to engage Washington directly.

North Korea issues are closely tied to security on the Korean Peninsula. Prolonged and public friction among ministries and with the US is a serious concern. The government should swiftly regain its bearings and chart a coherent course on North Korea policy.


khnews@heraldcorp.com