[Editorial] Wise to avoid denuclearization during initial round of inter-Korean dialogue

Ri Son-gwon, chair of North Korea’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, reads a joint press statement during the inter-Korean talks held at the Peace House in Panmunjeom on Jan. 9. (Photo Pool)

The high-level inter-Korean talks held on Jan. 9 produced results that exceeded the initial expectations. North Korea not only announced that it would send a large-scale delegation including high-ranking officials, athletes and cheerleaders, but it also agreed to hold military talks. Despite this, the conservative press and some opposition parties criticized the government for not pressuring North Korea hard enough on the question of denuclearization. This attack goes too far and ignores reality.

Aside from a few people on the fringes, there is hardly anyone, whether progressive or conservative, who opposes the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. South Korean President Moon Jae-in himself definitively stated during his New Year’s press conference on Jan. 10 that “the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is both the process and the goal of peace. This is our basic position on which there can be no concessions.” But these inter-Korean talks were organized around North Korea’s participation in the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, and that should be their priority. Standard procedure is to proceed to humanitarian discussion of reunions of the divided families and military talks aimed at preventing accidental clashes, which will naturally lead to discussion of denuclearization.

Besides, denuclearization is not something that can be achieved by unilateral pressure from South Korea. In fact, that might only make the situation worse. The harsh reality is that, as long as the UN’s sanctions against North Korea remain in place, denuclearization is no longer a matter for North and South Korea to resolve. As such, criticizing the government for not putting adequate pressure on North Korea about denuclearization during the first round of talks is neither desirable nor realistic.

The argument advanced by some conservatives that North Korea’s participation in the Olympics is a disingenuous peace offensive, a multipronged strategy aimed at buying time, easing sanctions and stirring up conflict among South Koreans, is not completely implausible. But even if North Korea is participating in inter-Korean dialogue with such a motivation, it is the mission of South Korea’s negotiators to move the dialogue toward peace and denuclearization.

Presuming that the conservatives’ goal is not to upset the negotiations altogether, they ought to encourage North and South Korea to meet more frequently to gradually expand their shared interests rather than putting unreasonable demands on negotiators who have only now sat down for a single meeting.

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