"Government Proposes Additional North Korea Engagement Measures to the US... Focus on Details"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

An official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs revealed on the 12th (local time) that the South Korean government proposed additional engagement measures to the United States to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula following North Korea's series of missile provocations.

The official stated after bilateral and trilateral talks between Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, "There was an honest and in-depth discussion regarding the Korean Peninsula issues among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan this time." He added, "All three countries recognized that the situation on the Korean Peninsula is grave and that this moment could be a turning point in the development of the situation. We had productive consultations to manage the situation on the Peninsula stably and to promptly resume dialogue with North Korea."

The official said, "Our side proposed several measures, and the U.S. side listened attentively. Although we cannot disclose specific details at this time, we will continue consultations with the U.S. and explain the specifics at an appropriate time." He continued, "The U.S. has been advocating for unconditional dialogue, but North Korea has not responded. We re-examined the situation and had a deep discussion about what measures are necessary to genuinely engage North Korea in this very serious situation."

When asked if the U.S. response was positive, he replied, "It was not negative." He added, "Secretary Blinken also spoke separately about the engagement measures. How to engage North Korea was a very important topic in today's discussions, and there were productive and in-depth consultations on this." Regarding whether the level of engagement proposed could elicit a response from North Korea, he said, "The fact that we say we proposed it means we must have considered its acceptability." He emphasized, "Since we reviewed how effective it could be and whether it could be a way to overcome this situation before presenting it, we internally believe there could be positive outcomes."

When asked if there was any mention of a declaration to formally end the Korean War during the meeting, he responded cautiously, "Compared to last September when the declaration was proposed, the timing has somewhat changed." Regarding various speculations about the timing of North Korea's additional provocations, he said, "We exchanged opinions on such matters and discussed what actions North Korea might take, including breaking the moratorium on nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missile launches." He explained that there was a consensus that the engagement measures with North Korea cannot be prolonged over a long period.

Regarding the timing for advancing the additional engagement measures, he said, "It is not something to be done this month or next month, but it is also not something that will take several months."

The Biden administration in the U.S. has shown willingness to engage North Korea by discussing a declaration to formally end the Korean War and humanitarian cooperation with South Korea, but fundamentally has not directly offered additional incentives to North Korea, advocating instead for 'unconditional dialogue.' In response, North Korea has considered the Biden administration to be maintaining a 'hostile policy' and has raised the level of tension.

In this context, attention is focused on what the additional engagement measures proposed by South Korea might include. There is particular interest in whether measures such as vaccine support for North Korea, which have been mentioned in some quarters, are included. Minister Chung previously stated regarding vaccine support for North Korea, "Our government is also reviewing it, but whether North Korea is ready to receive it is a separate matter."

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