Posted on : May.29,2018 18:14 KST Modified on : May.29,2018 18:27 KST

South Korean President Moon Jae-in talks about his May 26 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un while presiding over a meeting with senior aides at the Blue House on May 28. Pictured from the left are Blue House chief of staff Im Jong-seok, director of the Blue House National Security office Chung Eui-yong, Blue House Senior Secretary to the President for Jobs Ban Jang-sik, first vice chief of the National Security Office (NSO) Lee Sang-chul and second vice chief of the NSO Nam Gwan-pyo. (Kim Gyoung-ho, staff photographer)

South Korean president moves to remove “fussy formality and protocol”

On May 28, South Korean President Moon Jae-in remarked that “there could be more meetings in the future that are similar [to the second inter-Korean summit]” and asked his Blue House aides to prepare for frequent inter-Korean summits. This raises the possibility that President Moon will meet North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at Panmunjeom on a more routine basis.

“The most significant part of this inter-Korean summit was that it was easy and almost routine for the two leaders of South and North Korea to contact each other, make plans and meet to discuss urgent matters, while omitting all the fussy formality and protocol,” Moon said while presiding over a meeting of his senior secretaries and aides at the Blue House on May 28.

“Holding regular and formal inter-Korean meetings like the previous summit in Panmunjeom or the summit in Pyongyang scheduled for this fall is very important for developing inter-Korean relations. If technical meetings can be held frequently between these regular meetings when the urgent need arises, alternating between the South and North Korean sides of Panmunjeom, it will help us develop inter-Korean relations even more quickly,” President Moon said.

The second inter-Korean summit was held with a minimum amount of protocol, just one day after Kim proposed it. The day before, President Moon had also expressed his great satisfaction with the summit, remarking that “This is how South and North Korea ought to meet.”

President Moon told his secretaries to bear in mind that “meetings of a similar kind could be held in the future” and to look into ways to designate an acting president or military commander to prevent a power vacuum in case of an emergency, to have the top generals and the standing members of the National Security Council remain on standby, to find a balance between press coverage by South and North Korea and to notify affected countries both before and after the summit.

“The point is to have institutional measures in place to prepare for the eventuality of [summits] being held on a routine basis on the North Korean side of Panmunjeom,” said a senior official at the Blue House. This also appears aimed at countering criticism from conservative parties about a security vacuum.

President Moon’s remarks appear to be based on his rapport with Kim Jong-un. Kim said that “Meeting frequently and sitting down together to talk is very important for keeping our promises.” President Moon responded to this by saying, “The ease with which we can contact each other and meet when necessary is a sign of a new era in inter-Korean relations.” This has long been a top priority for the Blue House. Before the Apr. 27 inter-Korean summit, Blue House chief of staff Im Jong-seok said that “Arranging frequent meetings at Panmunjeom is an extremely important item of interest for the government.”

By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]

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