Ahn Cheol-soo: "Special Envoy Dispatch Should Be Considered to Explain the South Korea-US Summit to North Korea Without Reservation"

"Semiconductor, Vaccine, Nuclear Power, and Other Advanced Technology Investments and Supply Chain Restructuring Carry Significance"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, on the 24th called for consideration of dispatching a special envoy to Pyongyang in relation to the South Korea-U.S. summit.

At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Ahn said regarding the South Korea-U.S. summit, "While recognizing and respecting the efforts made so far, it must be clearly conveyed to the North Korean authorities that problems cannot be resolved through insincere and abnormal methods," and suggested, "I hope the government also considers proposing a special envoy to Pyongyang to sincerely and fully explain the results of the South Korea-U.S. summit to the North Korean authorities."

He added, "A cold and objective evaluation is that expectations and concerns coexist regarding the results of this South Korea-U.S. summit held in the last year of the Moon Jae-in administration," and emphasized, "Through this summit, the Moon Jae-in administration has created an opportunity to return from the previous ‘derailed diplomacy’ back to ‘principled diplomacy.’"

Ahn stated, "This summit reaffirmed the importance of the South Korea-U.S. alliance and created an opportunity to form a partnership of solidarity and cooperation befitting the alliance on various global issues," and noted, "It is also meaningful that through cooperation in advanced technology investment and supply chain restructuring in areas such as semiconductors, vaccines, and nuclear power, the two countries found a point of contact to advance to a stage of advanced technology alliance."

Regarding the termination of the South Korea-U.S. missile guidelines, he said, "Although late, it is greatly welcomed," and added, "It will provide a significant opportunity and momentum for the development of our country’s science and technology, such as enhancing advanced defense capabilities as a self-reliant nation and developing aerospace technology." He continued, "The termination of the missile agreement should be used as an opportunity to urgently resolve the missile power imbalance with North Korea and neighboring countries."

On vaccine cooperation, he expressed regret, saying, "It is very disappointing that the vaccine swap we requested was not realized, and that we only obtained vaccines for 550,000 South Korean soldiers, which was a military necessity for the U.S.," and evaluated, "This is a consideration from the U.S. side for its military ally and arises from military necessity, so it is difficult to view it as vaccine cooperation between countries."

Regarding the achievements of vaccine contract manufacturing and future comprehensive vaccine cooperation partnerships, he said, "Core technologies should be transferred to Korean companies, and the produced vaccines should be prioritized for our citizens," and emphasized, "Especially for mRNA vaccines, it is crucial that technology transfer enables Korean companies to produce the raw materials."

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