Blincoln, Justice Yong’s face-to-face speech… North Korea, Hong Kong, and the South China Sea were taken out

At the US-Korea Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held on the 17th, US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln discussed human rights violations by the North Korean regime, China’s violations of Hong Kong’s autonomy and human rights violations in Xinjiang, saying, “We must face such oppression. I hope we can achieve a common perspective with Korea.” At the Korea-US Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held for the first time after the administration of Joe Biden Sending a message saying’I hope Korea also confronts China’He did not hide that this is the purpose of his visit to Korea.

At the talks with Foreign Minister Eui-yong Eui-yong held at 6:30 pm at the Foreign Ministry’s office in Seoul’s Doryeom-dong, Minister Blincoln said, “We are witnessing dangerous scenes eroding democracy all over the world.” therefore “China is trying to systematically destroy Hong Kong’s autonomy in coercive and aggressive ways, undermining democracy in Taiwan, violating human rights in Tibet and Xinjiang, violating international norms in the South China Sea, and claiming unfair sovereignty.”He pointed to China.

It was agreed in advance to disclose all remarks to the media on that day. The fact that Minister Blincoln, who knows this well, hits China directly in all remarks can be regarded as de facto deliberation and disclosure that the talks will take the matter seriously. It also means that the sensitive issue will only be addressed in closed diplomatic meetings and will not respond to Loki in a way that does not inform the media.

Secretary Blincoln also raised the North Korean human rights issue, which North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is most reluctant to do. He stressed that “North Korea’s totalitarian regime continues to promote systematic and widespread human rights violations against North Koreans.” “We must defend basic rights and freedoms. “We have to face those who oppress it.” The expression’organized and widespread human rights violations’ is an expression written in the 2014 UN Committee on Human Rights Investigation of North Korea (COI) report, which in fact specified Kim Jong-un as the chief and recommended that the human rights situation in North Korea be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Secretary Blincoln also made it clear that he wants South Korea to participate. “We hope to achieve a free and open Indo-Pacific, a shared view for human rights, democracy, and rule of law (with Korea)”While. Korea, too, is a pressure to share this view if it is a country with principles that protect democracy and universal values.
“For decades, the ROK-US alliance has been a bastion of regional security, and our task is to strengthen, as well as maintain, the alliance,” Blincoln said. By doing so, it lays the foundation for the decades to come,” he said. “That’s why we are here today.”

Considering that South Korea has not even expressed its stance on human rights issues such as Hong Kong and Xinjiang, taking into account inter-Korean relations and relations between Korea and China, it is diplomatic that the level of remarks by Minister Blincoln on related issues is higher than expected. It is the perspective of Ga. The Biden administration, which initially emphasized the restoration of the alliance, observed that it would not publicly discuss an agenda that would reveal disagreements at the first meeting of the meeting.Because there were many.

In fact, in both remarks, it is not an exaggeration to say that the two sides had completely different stories. Minister Chung said, “The ROK-US alliance is the foundation of our diplomacy and the core axis of peace and prosperity in Northeast Asia and the world.” “The continued development of the ROK-US alliance is the most important task of our diplomacy.” He also emphasized, “As a result of today’s talks, we hope that the peace process on the Korean Peninsula will be firmly established and a momentum for real progress will be provided.”
However, Secretary Blincoln not only criticized the human rights situation in North Korea, but also cited North Korea’s nuclear and missile programs as a major threat. “North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile program is a common threat,” he said. “We will work together with other allies and partners, including South Korea and Japan, to denuclearize North Korea.”

this The difference in admission may become more prominent at the meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense (2+2) scheduled for the morning of the 18th.This is big. In a joint statement to be adopted after the meeting, the two sides may disagree over the level of expression on the issue of China and North Korea.
Kim Hong-gyun, former head of the Korean Peninsula Peace Bargaining Headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, “Ahead of the establishment of a public allied front, the United States seems to be putting out strong pressures and persuasion to grasp Korea’s true intentions.” “The government tends to overlook the biden administration’s firm position and principles on human rights issues. If wrongly done, this may change the level of the US-ROK alliance that the US thinks of.”I was concerned. He also said, “The 2+2 meeting is an excellent opportunity for the restoration of the alliance, and we should be careful not to commit the mistake of losing the greater national interests by focusing only on inter-Korean relations.

Earlier, during his visit to Japan on the 15th and 17th, Minister Blincoln showed off his strong relationship with Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu, a counterpart. At the bilateral foreign ministers’ meeting and the 2+2 meeting, when Foreign Minister Motegi called “Tony” and called Minister Blincoln’s last name, Minister Blincoln also shortened the name of Foreign Minister Motegi to “Tosh”, creating a friendly atmosphere. did.
Minister Blincoln tweeted a picture of an interview in a Japanese garden on board the flight to Korea. “I enjoyed the beautiful spring weather, and I was able to taste the sakura mochi (sakura rice cake eaten in Japan). We are sorry to miss the cherry blossom season, but we will come back again!I said.
Meanwhile, Secretary Blincoln said he does not meet other political and related figures other than the prevention of President Moon and official meetings with Ministers Chung Eui-yong and Seo-wook. This is compared to the fact that when Wang visited Korea as a member of the State Council and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of China in November last year, a number of passport personnel met with Wang.do. At that time, the members of Wang had a meal or met with National Assembly Speaker Park Byung-seok, Foreign Affairs Chairman Song Young-gil, then President Moon Jung-in, the then-President Unification Foreign Affairs and Security Special Affairs, and Democrats Yoon Kun-young and Lee Jae-jeong, members of the National Assembly’s Foreign and Transportation Day Committee.
Reporter Yoo Ji-hye [email protected]