Planning: Biden government launched <1>Rebuilding Korea-US Relations-Diplomatic and Security
Conflict with U.S. and European countries due to the anti-North Korean warfare law
Insisting on the peace process on the Korean Peninsula may lead to greater friction with allies.
Complicated economic problems, but normal diplomacy between China and China
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As the inauguration of Joe Biden’s administration is beginning to countdown, diplomatic experts advise that the South Korean government should shift its diplomatic focus from pro-China and pro-North Korea to the United States. It is pointed out that there is a need for a sharp shift in the diplomatic axis in line with the inauguration of the Biden government, which suggested the restoration of the value of liberal democracy and alliance as a hot topic, while the Korean government has engaged in tightrope diplomacy between the United States and China. This is because there are continued evaluations that it will be difficult to adhere to the Korean government’s stance of appeasement and a single tightrope strategy between diplomatic relations with the United States and the United States. The Donald Trump administration, which ignored the values of alliances and international solidarity in the past, allowed Korea’s independent diplomacy, but Biden pledged to hold a “democratic summit” against hostile forces such as China immediately after taking office.
On the 17th, former Director of National Diplomacy Yoon Deok-min said, “Strengthening the solidarity of democracy among the countries of the free camp is the core of the biden government’s diplomacy.” “Amid the conflict between the United States and China, Korea has taken an awkward stance. It will be” he diagnosed. In an e-mail interview with Seoul Economic Daily, senior researcher at Bruce Bennett’s Rand Research Institute of the United States said, “We have to decide whether Korea will oppose China or accept Chinese rule.” I see.” It is pointed out that South Korea’s diplomatic strategy taken by the Trump administration does not work in the era of the Biden government, so strengthening the alliance with the United States should be the center of diplomacy.
In particular, while South Korea is in conflict with the U.S. and European countries with the North-North Warfare Prohibition Act (Amendment to the Inter-Korean Relations Development Act), it was pointed out that continued friction with allies is inevitable if the peace process on the Korean Peninsula continues in the future. It was pointed out that if the South Korean government pushes for an appeasement policy toward North Korea within the remaining term of office for about a year and four months, it could appear as if it had left the free and democratic camp. Regarding the actual anti-North Korean warfare law, the bipartisan organization’Tom Landos Human Rights Committee’ under the US Congress has professed that it will hold a hearing on the Korean War against North Korea law earlier this year. Congressman Chris Smith warned that the bill would require the US State Department to critically re-evaluate Korea in its Human Rights Report and International Religious Freedom Report, and that it would also be placed on the State Department’s Watch List. The UN Special Rapporteur on North Korean Human Rights, Thomas Ohea Quintana, the European Union, the Canadian government, the British Conservative Party Human Rights Commission, and various human rights groups in Europe have also vigorously opposed the Korean government’s stance toward North Korea. In response, the Korean government and the passport did not step back, claiming that it was “intervention in internal affairs” before trying to seek understanding from the international community. This is one aspect that reveals that there is a large gap between the Korean government and the Western camp in the perception of freedom, democracy, and human rights such as’freedom of expression’. Shin Ki-wook, director of the Asia Pacific Research Institute at Stanford University, said, “As the Biden administration emphasizes human rights issues, South Korea has enacted a law against North Korean warfare and the US politics are concerned.
There is also a diagnosis that the South Korean government’s pro-North Korea policy should also be reviewed as the conflicting perspectives between South Korea and the United States on North Korea are causing concerns from US diplomats. North Korean Labor Party general secretary Kim Jong-un mentioned “nuclear” 36 times without mentioning “denuclearization” on the 9th, and stated the United States as “the biggest enemy”. President Moon Jae-in proposed a “non-face-to-face dialogue” in his New Year’s address on the 11th. The Unification Ministry analyzed that even though the proposal to stop the ROK-US combined military exercises under the principle of’Gangdaegang (强對强) and Seondaesun (善對善)’, the Ministry of Unification “imposed a position to improve inter-Korean relations.” Democratic Party lawmakers such as Seol Hoon and Yoon Kun-young also made remarks in anticipation of the return of Secretary General Kim. On the other hand, senior researcher David Maxwell of the Democracy Foundation, an American non-profit organization, said through the Voice of the United States (VOA) on the 11th, “General Secretary Kim is turning to a hard line.” “With no intention to denuclearize, we are on an equal footing as a nuclear power. They want to negotiate and seem to want to negotiate disarmament.” Nam Sung-wook, a professor at Korea University’s Department of Unification and Diplomacy, said, “The issue of flyers toward North Korea has left the United States disappointed from the beginning of the Biden administration, and it is a very difficult situation where the likelihood of a US-North Korea summit meeting that we want is lowered.”
Accordingly, there are opinions that the South Korean government should turn in a direction that certainly puts power on the US side after the inauguration of the Biden government from popular diplomacy, which is complicated by economic problems. This is because equidistant diplomacy between the United States and China is bound to be limited under the bilateral government, where the conflict will further materialize. In November last year, immediately after the US presidential election, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, the 20th largest Chinese foreign minister, visited Korea. Pro-China diplomacy controversy has been created by all the members of the government, including lawmakers, making appointments.
Eurasian Group Director Scott Shiman advised, “I understand the situation in which Korea is trying to avoid China’s antagonism, but we must cooperate with the United States to resolve a wide range of regional issues.” Deok-min Yoon said, “As much as we depend on China economically, China is also dependent on us, and the conflict between the US and China may be a’genius and master’ to us. “There is no need to go to China as too low-profile as it can be an opportunity to keep the upper hand.”
/ Reporter Yoon Gyeong-hwan, Heo Se-min, Kim In-yeop New York = Correspondent Kim Young-pil [email protected]
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