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US Forces Korea Commander Robert Abrams listens to remarks from South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo during the 2019 Seoul Defense Dialogue on Sept. 5. (Yonhap News)
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Remarks appear aimed at Japan’s retaliatory trade measures
South Korean Minister of National Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo said on Sept. 5 that the “competition [by countries] to pursue their own interests ahead of all else is becoming more intense than ever before.” “Recently, there have been worrisome activities around the Korean Peninsula in terms of [countries] stirring up security conflicts with neighbors to further their own interests,” he added, in an apparent reference to Japan instigating frictions with South Korea through measures including its removal from Japan’s “white list” of countries benefiting from expedited expert review procedures for strategic items. Jeong’s remarks came in the opening address to the 2019 Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD), held at Seoul’s Lotte Hotel that day. Referring to the inter-Korean and North Korea-US summits that have taken place under the Moon Jae-in administration, as well as the meeting earlier this year among the South and North Korean and US leaders and the Sept. 19 military agreement with North Korea, Jeong said that South Korea “has begun a bold journey toward North Korea’s denuclearization and the establishment of permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.” He went on to stress that “the longstanding military antagonisms and tensions that have persistence between South and North for over 70 years since the Korean War’s outbreak in 1950 will not be overcome overnight.” “Many hurdles remain before us, including North Korea’s recent raising of tensions on the Korean Peninsula with the launch of short-range ballistic missiles,” he added. Jeong promised that Seoul would “not stop working patiently and carefully to build mutual trust,” but stressed that its security strategy was one of “peace through strength.” “When there is powerful strength, peace can be preserved and peace can be created,” he said. “Our military will bolster the government’s efforts with powerful defense capabilities to protect the country and its people,” he added. USFK commander attends SDD for first time Marking its eighth edition this year, the SDD is a multilateral defense dialogue body at the vice-ministerial level, which discusses multilateral security cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region and ideas for establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula. The latest dialogue – on the theme “Building Peace Together: Challenges and Visions” – continues until Sept. 6. It includes four plenary sessions and three special sessions, with defense officials and experts participating from over 50 countries and five international organizations. For the latest meeting, Gen. Robert Abrams, commander of the US Forces Korea Command and ROK-US Combined Forces Command, attended as senior US representative. Previously, the US had typically sent an assistant secretary of demand of USFK deputy commander as its representative to the yearly event; this year’s event was the first attended by a USFK commander. The question of whether the US would be attending received major attention after the US State and Defense Departments expressed deep dismay and disappointment over the Moon administration’s declaration that it was dropping out of its General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan. Before and after the opening ceremony on Sept. 5, Abrams met and greeted members of the South Korean military leadership including Jeong, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Park Han-ki, and CFC Deputy Commander Gen. Choi Byung-hyuk. After the ceremony, he posed for a photograph hand-in-hand with Jeong and others. But he also declined to respond to questions from reporters over issues that have recently surfaced, including questions about the US retaining command authority over South Korean forces through the UN Command following the transfer of operational wartime control (OPCON). S. Korean prime minister urges resumption of N. Korea-US working-level dialogue In his celebratory address for the opening ceremony that day, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon shared his hopes for the swift resumption of North Korea-US working-level dialogue. “The business of spreading peace on the Korean Peninsula and establishing it permanently will be affected by the denuclearization negotiations between North Korea and the US,” he said. Noting that South and North Korea and the US have been “working since last year to find a way toward North Korea’s denuclearization,” Lee added, “Although they have not achieved clear results, South and North Korea and the US are maintaining the track of dialogue toward finding a way.” He went on to say that South Korea “is doing two things at the same time, participating in the multilateral security cooperation system since the end of the global Cold War while at the same time having to bring an end to the Cold War on the Korean Peninsula.” “We ask for the international community’s understanding of and cooperation with these efforts by South Korea,” he said. DeTrani says N. Korea needs regime security before proceeding with denuclearization Joseph DeTrani, a Missouri State University professor who took part in the plenary session on the “Peace Process on the Korean Peninsula and International Cooperation,” said he believed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had made the strategic choice to abandon nuclear weapons for the sake of normal relations with the US, South Korea, and the international community. In his presentation, DeTrani – a former deputy US representative to the Six-Party Talks on the nuclear issue – said that Kim “wants to focus on economic development and improving the lives of North Korea’s 24 million people.” DeTrani explained that Kim “needs regime security before he can proceed with abandoning nuclear weapons and nuclear facilities.” “It is eminently possible for North Korea to bring out the normalization of relations, signing of a peace agreement, and sanctions relief according to a phased ‘action-for-action’ principle on the understanding that it is prepared to denuclearize in a complete and verifiable way,” he said. “North Korea agreeing to denuclearization means abandoning all nuclear weapons and facilities in a complete and verifiable way and allowing inspectors to visit sites here unreported nuclear facilities are suspected of existing, and North Korea understands that,” he added. “In exchange, North Korea wants normalization of relations with the US, a peace agreement ending the Korean War, and relief from all sanctions,” he said. DeTrani went on to say, “I agree with these aims, and the ideal scenario would be to prepare a road map for achieving them and have President [Donald] Trump and Kim Jong-un approve it at their next [North Korea-US] summit.” “President Moon Jae-in needs to cooperate closely with President Trump so that we can move forward,” he emphasized. Should Japan participate in N. Korea’s denuclearization process? Satoshi Morimoto, president of Takushoku University and former Japanese Minister of Defense, said in his presentation that he “cannot support a compromise that merely involved freezing North Korea’s nuclear facilities or nuclear weapon storage facilities.” “If a multilateral framework for the peace process needs to be established to mediate and address issues such as an end-of-war declaration, establishment of liaison offices, and economic support to North Korea, then Japan is prepared to participate in that framework and provide the necessary support,” he added. Morimoto also stressed that “the US, South Korea, and Japan need to cooperate closely for the sake of the peace process.” “The South Korea-US and US-Japan alliances need to grow closer, and South Korea and Japan need to cooperate more closely and support each other for the sake of a stable future,” he added. By Yoo Kang-moon, senior staff writer Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
