Will top S. Korean security advisor's visit to US prompt dialogue with N. Korea?
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Suh Hoon, director of the Blue House Office of National Security, is visiting the US this week.
His visit plans were confirmed Sunday by multiple administration sources. It is reportedly his first solo visit to the US since he attended a trilateral meeting with the US and Japanese national security advisors in early April.
The chief goal of Suh’s visit appears to be coordination on solutions for the political issues on the Korean Peninsula based on in-person bilateral discussions with White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, after a previous attempt to organize a meeting during the UN General Assembly in New York last month failed to pan out.
Observers are also focusing on the reasons behind the decision to move Suh’s US visit up to this week after previous reports that it would take place around November.
First and foremost, analysts are viewing Suh’s visit as intended to inject further momentum into dialogue and negotiations through senior-level discussions among officials closely acquainted with the views of South Korean and US leaders. This comes at a time when there are subtle yet significant signs of change in inter-Korean relations and the Korean Peninsula climate in general, following a Sept. 21 speech by South Korean President Moon Jae-in before the UN General Assembly and a Sept. 29 policy speech by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un before the Supreme People’s Assembly.
Moon’s speech to the UN, in which he proposed a declaration by three or four parties — including China — to officially end the Korean War, was met by two consecutive statements on Sept. 24 and 25 by Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the Workers’ Party of Korea Central Committee, and the Oct. 4 restoration of direct inter-Korean hotlines following a policy speech by Kim Jong-un.
Observers in and around the administration viewed that as a significant shift from Pyongyang, which had long remained silent in response to Seoul and Washington’s calls for dialogue, including ongoing requests for “unconditional dialogue” from the Joe Biden administration.
To contribute to this trend, the Moon administration had been seeking to persuade the US of the usefulness of an end-of-war declaration as a meaningful trust-building measure — a message it communicated in a bilateral and trilateral (with Japan) meetings of top diplomats on Sept. 22 and discussions on Sept. 30 between the South Korean and US senior representatives on the North Korean nuclear issue.
In a talk with the US Council on Foreign Relations and a Washington Post interview while visiting the US for the UN General Assembly, South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Chung Eui-yong stressed the importance of considering relieving sanctions on North Korea. His message should also be read in the same context.
Chung reportedly provided an additional explanation on Pyongyang’s response during a pull-aside meeting with his US counterpart, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, at a Ministerial Council Meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on Tuesday.
But while the Moon administration has been actively working to restart the Korean Peninsula peace process by means of an end-of-war declaration, the Biden administration has remained cautious, saying only that it is willing to continue in close communication on the issue.
While the Biden administration has publicly indicated its support for inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation, it has reportedly bristled at the South Korean government’s aggressive attempts to win it over. That’s why some observers in the foreign affairs community have suggested Suh’s US visit may be meant to smooth things over.
But with the Moon administration clearly committed to achieving an end-of-war declaration and speeding up the Korean Peninsula peace process before its term is up, most analysts predict Suh’s focus during his visit will be on gaining broader US support for practical measures to resume dialogue, including an end-of-war declaration and vaccine assistance to North Korea.
By Kim Ji-eun, staff reporter
Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]
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