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| U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. for Special Political Affairs Jeff DeLaurentis, center, reads a joint statement of 11 U.N. member countries on North Korea's ballistic missile launch at the U.N. headquarters in New York, Monday (EST). On the right is South Korea's permanent representative to the U.N., Ambassador Cho Hyun. Screenshot from the U.N.'s YouTube channel |
By Nam Hyun-woo
South Korea is taking a hawkish stance on North Korea, joining 10 other countries to condemn the Kim Jong-un regime's recent ballistic missile launch, while President Moon Jae-in is stressing the need for the South to gain more power to decide its future.
Some interpret the two related moves as the Moon government's decision to mitigate growing international concerns that South Korea remains passive about joining the coalition of the U.S. and other democracies to counter the aggressive tones of China, Russia and North Korea.
On Monday, 11 United Nations members, including South Korea and the U.S., released a joint statement condemning North Korea's medium-range ballistic missile launch on Sunday, after the U.N. Security Council held a meeting to discuss countermeasures.
The statement was read by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. for Special Political Affairs Jeff DeLaurentis with Ambassador Cho Hyun, standing beside him on the podium.
It was South Korea's first participation in an international condemnation of North Korea's missile launches this year. Pyongyang has conducted eight rounds of missile tests so far this year, but Seoul had previously not joined international condemnation of the acts, in apparent consideration of President Moon's efforts to revive the peace mood between the two Koreas.
Seoul's participation in this joint statement bears more significance because it urges the North to abandon its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs in "a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner." The South Korean government had been refraining from using such phrases.
An official at Seoul's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday that South Korea joined the statement after "a comprehensive consideration of the seriousness of North Korea's repeated missile launches," which is similar to its previous explanation of Seoul's absence in previous U.N. members' condemnations.
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| President Moon Jae-in speaks during a ceremony to commemorate the 103rd anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement at the National Memorial for the Provisional Korean Government in Seodaemun District, Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap |
President Moon also made stronger remarks recently emphasizing South Korea's power.
In his speech for the 103rd anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement on Tuesday, Moon said, "The lesson that the spirit of the March 1 Independence Movement gives us today is that we should have the power to lead our history without being pushed around by an international order centered on powerful countries."
Although Moon added that "only dialogue can bring peace" on the Korean Peninsula, he also noted that "peace on the Korean Peninsula is a must for us to become stronger," showing a more hawkish stance compared to his previous remarks calling for the North to come out for talks using a low-key approach.
Experts said that this shift appears to be in line with the growing international pressure on South Korea's seemingly passive stance in joining the U.S.' and other countries' efforts to contain the aggressive tones of China, Russia and North Korea.
"While the U.S. and its allies are uniting against Russia, South Korea passively joined the others in (supporting the) sanctions," said Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University. "Against this backdrop, if Seoul again opts out of the joint condemnation toward Pyongyang's missile launch, it may give the U.S. the wrong signal that South Korea is unwilling to join its efforts to counter actions harming international rules and order."
On Feb. 24, the U.S. announced the application of the Foreign Direct Product Rule (FDPR) on all of Russia as part of export controls due to the recent invasion of Ukraine. This rule requires companies to receive a license from the U.S. for tech-related items using U.S. technology that are shipped to Russia.
While announcing the FDPR, the U.S. exempted 32 countries, but South Korea was not included. Park interpreted this move as resulting from Seoul's passive stance in joining the U.S.-led sanctions campaign on Russia and North Korea.
South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo told reporters Wednesday, "We will make sure of our principle that South Korea will adopt measures substantially similar to those of the U.S. and its other allies' export curbs on Russia, and will draw out an agreement on Seoul's exemption from the FDPR."
On the other hand, Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said South Korea's participation in the latest joint statement against the North should be understood separately from the issue of Seoul's support of the sanctions on Russia.
"Apart from South Korea's coalition with other free democracies, North Korea has concentrated on missile launches this year, and went as far as lifting its self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and ballistic missile tests," Yang said. "This alone can give enough grounds for President Moon and his administration to participate in the latest condemnation."
