As South Korea prepares to attend multiple ministerial forums led by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this week, Foreign Ministry officials said on Monday that Seoul is consulting with other participating nations to shore up support for denuclearization and the establishment of lasting peace in the Korean Peninsula. The South is seeking an assessment of its reconciliation efforts with the North, while pushing for Pyongyang to return to the table for talks.
Though the two nations’ leaders met over three summits in 2018, ushering in a wave of hope about refining their relationship, links between them have rapidly deteriorated since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s talks with United States President Donald Trump collapsed last year with no agreement regarding denuclearization or easing United Nations sanctions on the country. Since then, North Korea has increased pressure on the South to work on improving inter-Korean economic ties Pyongyang dismantles its nuclear weapons program. However, when South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s government placed denuclearization as a precondition for restarting ventures between the two nations, the North turned increasingly harsh towards the South.
Recent months have seen escalating tensions between the neighbours, with Pyongyang categorically rejecting any requests to return to denuclearization negotiations. Kim Jong-un also said in July that the country’s nuclear arsenal would ensure that it never has to fight wars again and guarantee its safety from “imperialist and hostile forces”. This further illustrates just how difficult it is going to be to get the authoritarian regime to abandon a program it deems as fundamental to its survival.
According to the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha is expected to attend four ASEAN-related ministerial meetings from Wednesday to Saturday, namely the Foreign Ministers’ Meeting between Korea and ASEAN, the ASEAN Plus Three, the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF). The ARF is the only multilateral consultative body of which North Korea is a part. However, whether Pyongyang will participate is unclear.
Though Seoul is hoping to bring up the issue of engaging the North during the meetings, its efforts may be overshadowed by the intensifying rivalry between its two important allies—the US and China—who will also attend the talks. Both sides are already increasing pressure on Seoul to pick a side— earlier this month, despite sustained Chinese efforts to convince countries to reject US interference in regional issues, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Korea would join Washington’s coalition against Chinese economic and political aggression.
Seoul Set to Rally Global Support for Peace Efforts With Pyongyang at Upcoming ASEAN Fora
However, South Korea's efforts could be hampered by the escalating US-China dispute.
September 8, 2020
South Korean President Moon Jae-in. SOURCE: THE ASEAN POST