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South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un during their second summit at Unification House (Tongilgak) in Panmunjeom on May 26. Also present are South Korea’s National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon (left) and North Korea’s Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) Kim Yong-chol (second from right). (provided by the Blue House)
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Works on exemptions to North Korea sanctions for cooperative economic efforts
The Blue House is opening up the possibility of another inter-Korean summit ahead of schedule in August while working on exemptions to North Korea sanctions as a precondition to cooperative efforts between the two sides. Speaking on Aug. 1 in connection with the possibility of an early summit happening in August, a senior House official said, “This is a matter to be decided in consultation with the North, not something we can pursue unilaterally.” At the same time, the opposition added that “every possibility is open” for the South Korean side. Provided that the conditions are right, the official hinted, the government was willing to push forward the inter-Korean summit from the fall to the end of August. If the inter-Korean summit is held earlier than planned and progress is made on economic cooperation and other efforts to achieve inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation, the Blue House believes, it could create positive momentum in the efforts to move forward following the North Korea-US summit, which are currently stalled. There has been little movement in North Korea-US negotiations toward denuclearization, despite North Korea’s dismantling of a missile engine test site at Tongchang Village and its repatriation of the remains of US service members. The US is reluctant to formally end the Korean War, which is one of North Korea’s major demands. The day before, North Korea expressed doubt about the South Korean government’s role as a mediator, noting that “we’re not getting results on anything.” Chung and Suh visit US to consult The key question is whether progress can be reached on inter-Korean cooperation projects despite sanctions by the international community. At the end of last month, the Blue House sent Blue House National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong and then National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon to the US with the apparent goal of asking the US for an exception from the North Korea sanctions. Suh’s trip in particular occurred after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo while Mark Lambert, the State Department’s Acting Deputy Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, emphasized that sanctions would be maintained on the North and put the brakes on movements to expand inter-Korean economic cooperation. Suh reportedly tried to convince the Americans of the urgency of granting an exemption from sanctions for the establishment of an inter-Korean joint liaison office in Kaesong, which was one of the agreements that South and North Korea reached in their Panmunjeom Declaration on Apr. 27. “The two figures’ visit to the US is connected to attempts to get the ball rolling in inter-Korean cooperation projects. If we’re going to push forward the timeframe of the inter-Korean summit, some progress needs to be made, and that’s what we’re worried about,” said a senior official at the Blue House. By Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporter Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]
