Challenges for the new security team

Seoul must read the movements in Washington carefully.

The second foreign and security teams under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration have been formed. Cho Tae-yong, currently national security adviser, has been tapped as the new National Intelligence Service (NIS) director, and Cho Tae-yul, a former vice foreign minister and ambassador to the United Nations, as the new foreign minister. A new national security adviser is yet to be named.

The first team after President Yoon was inaugurated in May 2022 focused on building a framework for foreign and security policy under the conservative government. The direction to reinforce alliance with the United States, restore relationships with Japan and cement trilateral ties among Korea, the United States and Japan has gained approval despite some controversies within.

The second team also faces multiple challenges. It must cope with security threats from the fast advances of North Korea’s missile and nuclear capabilities. The North this year alone fired off five ICBMs to test the South Korean and U.S. response. The recent launch of a solid-fuel ICBM poses a critical threat to peace in the Korean Peninsula.

During the second Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) meeting in Washington on Dec. 15, Korea and the United States decided to complete guidelines for enhancing nuclear deterrence cooperation and to include nuclear operation scenarios in their joint exercises for 2024. The new foreign and security team must cooperate closely to see through the plans as agreed to. Seoul must enhance multilateral diplomacy and draw aggressive UN Security Council actions to address North Korea’s nuclear threats.

The new NIS chief must first restore house order in the spy agency divided in an internal feud. Cho said the NIS’s primary role is to supply accurate and timely information for appropriate decision-making. The role is important because it is not only related to North Korea but also helps address ever-escalating security threats from trade wars, the U.S.-China relationship, industrial spies, and terrorism.

The new team must closely watch the developments in the U.S., as polls show former president Donald Trump ahead of current President Joe Biden for next November’s presidential election. The security team must brace for the so-called Trump risk, as he wanted to pull American troops out of Korea and implied that he condoned North Korea’s nuclear weapons. The two Chos must leverage their network to effectively deliver Korean voices to the U.S.

Economic security has become crucial to national interests as the barriers between security and economy became blurry amid intensified competition between Washington and Beijing. Seoul must read the movements in Washington carefully. The foreign minister nominee, who is well versed in multilateral commerce, as well as the new head of NIS must pay close attention to economic security.