Yoon Young-kwan: "Establishing Peace on the Korean Peninsula through the Yongmi (用美) Strategy... Cautious Approach Needed for 'Quad Participation'"

Former Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan and Professor Hwang Jae-ho of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies are having a conversation in the Asia Economy conference room on the 10th. Photo by Moon Ho-nam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] "It is important to make Americans aware of the unique nature of the Korean Peninsula issue, which has suffered hardships whenever continental and maritime powers clash."

Regarding the current situation where US-China tensions are expected to intensify even after President Joe Biden's inauguration and the North Korean nuclear issue remains unresolved, Yoon Young-kwan, Professor Emeritus of Political Science and Diplomacy at Seoul National University (former Minister of Foreign Affairs), suggested this direction.

In a recent dialogue with Hwang Jae-ho, a regular columnist for Asia Economy and professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies' International Studies Department, he advised, "In terms of democracy, value diplomacy, and global cooperation, we should proceed together as allies with the US, but on the military front, we should persuade not to extend the alliance's target to China on the Korean Peninsula."

Professor Yoon has emphasized the importance of 'principled diplomacy' through various past contributions. He agrees with the emphasis and spread of democratic values promoted by the US and cooperation on global issues, but his theory is that flexibility should be maintained to utilize the US for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Former Foreign Minister Yoon Young-kwan and Professor Hwang Jae-ho of Hankuk University of Foreign Studies are having a conversation in the Asia Economy conference room on the 10th. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

Meanwhile, the Biden administration recently visited South Korea and held the Korea-US Foreign and Defense Ministers (2+2) meeting, reaffirming the strength of the Korea-US alliance. However, there are also evaluations that sharp differences in views between the two countries regarding North Korea, China, and Japan were exposed. This is also linked to the analysis that Biden's diplomacy is essentially no different from Trump's.

Regarding this, Professor Yoon diagnosed, "President Biden is attempting to reorganize the international order by presenting a direction different from Trump." George Shultz, who served as Secretary of State during the Reagan era, compared foreign policy to 'gardening,' categorizing diplomatic styles into gardeners (maintenance type) and landscapers (redesign type), and Biden is closer to the latter than the former.

Professor Yoon said, "Biden's diplomacy will be qualitatively quite different from Trump's," adding, "While Trump pursued a diplomatic line that abandoned America's leadership role in the international community, Biden intends to actively participate in the international community and exercise leadership."

In the future, the US, aiming to check China, is expected to request South Korea's participation in the Quad (a security dialogue involving the US, India, Japan, and Australia), raising concerns that this could shake South Korea's balanced diplomacy between the US and China.

Regarding this, Professor Yoon said, "We should approach the informal security consultative body Quad and its expanded 'Quad Plus' cautiously," adding, "It will take time to enter the 'Quad Plus (+) 3' phase, so there is no need to rush." He also added, "Americans do not have a deep understanding of the geopolitical uniqueness of the Korean Peninsula," emphasizing, "It is very important to make Americans aware of this uniqueness. There is a need to manage the alliance differently from Australia or Japan."

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