Choi Jong-Geon, the first vice minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, expressed this as a result of the omission of “China” in a joint statement of the Ministers’ Meeting for US-Korea diplomacy and defense (2+2), saying that it was “a result of the US acceptance of our intentions”. US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said about the purpose of their visit to Korea, “I came in a mode that listens to us.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Eui-yong Eui-yong guides the seats to US Secretary of State Tony Blincoln at a meeting of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Defense held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul on the morning of the 18th. News 1
On the 19th, Vice Minister Choi appeared on TBS’News Factory of Kim Eo-jun’ and said that China-related contents were omitted in the joint statement, saying, “It is inappropriate for the ROK and the US to make a statement aiming at the three countries.”
Radio Interview with Vice Minister Choi Jong-gun
“Joint Statement Excluding China, Accepting Our Intent”
When asked, “Is it an outcome?”
When asked, “Excluding China, we are a relationship that cannot be separated from China due to economic problems, is it reflecting our will?” said, “At first glance, it is correct to say that,” and “What I want to say for sure is our intention, but this is the United States. “We accepted this and came out as a joint statement.” When the host says, “It seems that the subject is an achievement,” he said, “Yes. The (US·China) theory of compatibility is correct. It doesn’t seem like a choice.”
Denuclearization is missing, but “complete coordination is important.”
Regarding the omission of’denuclearization’ in the joint statement, Vice Minister Choi said, “Through complete coordination, we will end the review of the policy toward North Korea that will be announced by the United States soon, and Minister Blincoln said that the opinion of the Republic of Korea, the most important key stakeholder, is important. I said. When the host asked,’Some conservative media reported that this visit was to pressure Korea, but did you come upside down to hear our story?’ Choi said, “Yes. It came in a kind of listening and listening mode.”
Graphic = Reporter Kim Kyung-jin [email protected]
However, it is pointed out that looking at the content and level of the message issued by Minister Blincoln and others through public remarks, it is not a simple listening tour and not only a result of China’s omission in the joint statement.
The message of Secretary Blincoln’s visit to Korea was clear. That the alliance should face together violations of norms such as human rights violations by’repressive North Korea’ and’anti-democratic China’.Was.
“Human rights, the center of US diplomacy”
In particular, Blincoln said in an interview with KBS and SBS on the 18th, when asked about human rights in North Korea, “President Biden made it clear that from the first day of his inauguration, he would put human rights and democracy back at the center of US foreign policy. “This is something that shouldn’t be done with an optional basis.”
Diplomats pay attention to the expression’selective basis’. This is because the recognition of the Biden administration that the issue of human rights is a universal value and therefore it is not intended to be brought up by the other party is implied.
This doesn’t just come out. In December 2017, the US political media Politico reported on a memo sent to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in May of the same year, as head of state policy, Brian Hooke. In the memo “In relations with China, Russia, North Korea and Iran, human rights issues should be considered as an important issue,” said Mr. Hook. “But allies should be treated differently.” He ordered a selective approach.did. The intention was that there was a concern that anti-U.S. forces, who were equally questioning human rights in the alliance, might take power. As this became known, accusations of the Trump administration’s attempt to abandon the values that the United States has cherished struck.
Biden’s’value diplomacy’ also targets alliances
The Biden administration’s pursuit of “value diplomacy” is also aimed at correcting the mistakes of the Trump administration. The expression “selective basis” used by Minister Blincoln stems from this background. In the human rights issue, it means that the double standards will not be rejected and the alliance will not be treated differently.It can also be seen as.
In fact, this is an issue that the government, which has been the target of the UN’s concerns over North Korea’s anti-warfare law and North Korean fishermen’s repatriation to North Korea, should look carefully. This is because it can lead to conflict between alliances. To like that the North Korean-China human rights issue has been omitted in a joint statement may be an overly relaxed perception.
The US-China high-level talks held in Anchorage, Alaska on the 18th. AP = Yonhap News.
In addition The State Department and the U.S. Embassy in Korea posted full interviews on their homepages, not what the two broadcasters sent out as news.did. In actual broadcasting, the expression’selective basis’ was omitted. It seems to have decided that it is important for the message of Secretary Blincoln to be fully delivered to the Korean public.
Blincoln, “Denuclearization of North Korea” every time
In a joint statement, Vice Minister Choi emphasized that the absence of denuclearization was also a coordinated result, but Blincoln expressed differences in perception by clarifying that the US goal was “denuclearization of North Korea” whenever he had a chance to speak. It is also true that he said that he valued the opinion of the alliance, but this was not just meant for Korea. When talking about the policy review toward North Korea, he mentioned Japan as well.
Shin Beom-cheol, director of the Center for Foreign Affairs and Security at the Economic and Social Research Institute, said, “By subtracting the Chinese issue and the denuclearization of North Korea in the joint statement, we must consider what the US will have and what we will strategically gain and lose. Rather than reading the intentions of the United States, the government appreciates the fact that it did not contain uncomfortable content as desired.”He pointed out.
Reporter Yoo Ji-hye [email protected]
