[First Moment] Between Coldness and Passion

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] On the morning of the 9th at 8:30 a.m., at the National Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak-gu, Seoul, Jeong Eui-yong, the newly appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, visited the site to pay respects to the patriotic martyrs before his inauguration ceremony.

He wrote in the guestbook, "I will establish lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula so that no more horrific wars occur on this land." The solemnity was evident in the face and words of the septuagenarian diplomat.

Minister Jeong continued this solemn tone at the inauguration ceremony held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building. In his inaugural speech, he said, "The late Minister Park Dong-jin, who led our diplomacy at the heart of the Cold War and laid the foundation of the Korea-US alliance, often said, ‘A diplomat is a warrior without a gun.’" He emphasized the sense of mission that a Korean diplomat must possess, comparable to that of a soldier who goes to war.

Minister Jeong passed the 5th Foreign Service Examination in 1971 and joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During his early diplomatic career, he admired the late Minister Park. Minister Park, who holds the record as the longest-serving head of foreign affairs, is regarded as one of the figures who laid the foundation of modern Korean diplomacy. He was appointed minister in December 1975 and served as Foreign Minister for about 4 years and 9 months until September 1980.

At that time, he was praised for skillfully managing the uncomfortable Korea-US relations amid the confrontation between the Carter administration, which advocated moralism, and the Yushin regime. He also played a significant role in resolving diplomatic conflicts between Korea and the US that arose from the so-called ‘Koreagate’ in 1976.

The reason Minister Jeong recalled the late Minister Park, who was responsible for Korea-US diplomacy during turbulent times, is that the diplomatic front surrounding the Korean Peninsula is no different from a war without gunfire.

Last month, at the 8th Party Congress, North Korea changed its policy toward South Korea from ‘federal unification’ to ‘unification by force’ through nuclear weapons and missiles. North Korea explicitly stated this policy of unification by force in the Workers’ Party Charter, which takes precedence over the constitution. Along with nuclear weapons enhancement, North Korea declared plans to develop tactical nuclear weapons capable of striking South Korea at any time, as well as intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) and submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) to counter the United States. This amounts to an overt nuclear threat.

The United States and China continue to growl at each other. President Joe Biden of the US and President Xi Jinping of China have recently maintained sharp confrontations not only over political and military issues such as the Myanmar military coup and Taiwan maritime drills but also economic matters. The US-China conflict, which escalated during the Donald Trump administration, continues without a ‘honeymoon’ period even after the Biden administration took office.

In this situation, Minister Jeong’s role and burden have increased. There are many worrisome issues ahead of him.

Currently, there are differences in opinion between the US and North Korea regarding denuclearization. Minister Jeong believes that "North Korea has the will to denuclearize and that peace on the Korean Peninsula has become normalized," whereas the US maintains the opposite stance that "North Korea has aspirations to enhance its military power."

Perhaps recognizing these differences, Minister Jeong emphasized at a meeting with reporters on the afternoon of the 9th, "Although there are various agendas between Korea and the US recently, I believe there is fundamentally no significant difference in positions between the two countries," adding, "The alliance is strong, so even if there are some differing opinions, I believe there will be no major problems in coordinating them."

He expressed confidence that he can persuade the US to establish a peace process on the Korean Peninsula based on the Korea-US alliance, which is the foundation of Korean diplomacy.

However, excessive confidence in diplomacy is unwise. While maintaining solemnity, one should not expect overly dramatic developments.

Although Minister Jeong was a key figure in creating the Singapore Miracle, the showy diplomacy of the Trump era no longer works. He must find a balance between the ‘passion of a warrior’ and the ‘calmness of a diplomat.’

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.