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President Moon Jae-in offers a seat to Latvian President Raimonds Vējonis after the two men took a commemorative photo during their summit at the Blue House on Feb. 13. (Blue House Photo Pool)
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South Korean leader gauging domestic public opinion, US position before making definitive comments
So far, President Moon Jae-in has had little to say about a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un or about dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington. As part of its announcement of Moon’s first Cabinet video conference, scheduled for ten o'clock on Feb. 13, the Blue House said, "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to present a report on summit diplomacy as a result of the Pyeongchang Olympics opening ceremony and on related future follow-up." North Korean Workers' Party Chairman Kim Jong-un expressed satisfaction with reports on their visit to South Korea by high-ranking officials, including his sister Kim Yo-jong, who is the first vice director of the Central Committee of the Korean Workers' Party. In light of his having directed his staff to, “make the best of this good opportunity for reconciliation and dialogue," it was expected that President Moon would comment on it, but he said nothing about summit diplomacy during the conference with his cabinet. President Moon's only mention of the matter occurred in his summit with Latvian President Raimonds Vējonis after the Cabinet conference. He said, "The United States looks favorably on dialogue between Seoul and Pyongyang" and expressed his willingness to conduct such an exchange. In a briefing about their meeting, the Blue House explained that that was said merely as a passive response to President Vējonis's noting the significance of Kim Yo-jong's role as a special envoy of the North. President Moon's reticence seems to be based on his judgment that it is not yet time to say anything definite without first prudently taking in such variables as domestic public opinion and the U.S. stance on the issue. A Blue House senior official told reporters, "This is a precious opportunity that we are approaching very carefully, step by step, to avoid any possible mistakes." He added that it was very important to consider where the White House stands. "The United States also needs time to consider this, and there will be differing opinions. Both our governments need time to work out a balanced approach,” the official added. President Moon's steady efforts, North Korea's dispatching high-ranking officials to the South, and the invitation to visit Pyongyang have opened the door to dialogue. In order to carry the process on toward achieving permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula, the US response will be critical, and the South Korean leader has expressed a willingness in the past to continue working with both the Americans and the North Koreans to facilitate the process. The Blue House has called for restraint on the part of the media, asking them to refrain from premature predictions of when a South-North summit might take place or envoys might be sent to the North or the US. A second Blue House official has expressed concern over the existing coverage, saying, "The press is rushing into this too fast. We are grateful that you're taking such a positive view of the matter, but you're getting ahead of the government on this, so we ask that you reduce your pace a bit." By Kim Bo-hyeop, staff reporter Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
