[Initial Perspective] Park Jin, Must Develop a Sophisticated North Korea Policy

Published 20 Apr.2022 10:56(KST)

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] On November 8, 2020, the 46th President of the United States was confirmed as Democratic candidate Joe Biden.

With the change of administration in the U.S., the Korean political circles began searching for Biden’s connections. Attention was focused on a member of the opposition party, People Power Party, rather than the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.

That person was Representative Park Jin. Representative Jeong Jin-seok of the People Power Party said, "There is only one person in our country who has had a private meeting with Biden," and evaluated, "When Park was the chairman of the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, he was the counterpart of Biden, who was the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. They had long private meetings in Washington in 2008 and even exchanged jokes."

One year and five months later, on the 13th, Representative Park was nominated as the Minister of Foreign Affairs by President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol. Given his connection with President Biden and his experience as a special envoy (head of the Korea-U.S. Policy Consultation Delegation), this was a predictable step.

Expectations for candidate Park are high even in diplomatic circles. Not only does he have close ties with key figures, but he is also regarded as having the most insight into the Biden administration’s North Korea policy.

In November 2020, when the ruling party suggested a strategy to explain and persuade that Biden supported the Kim Dae-jung administration’s ‘Sunshine Policy’ and that South Korea’s diplomatic and security policies had evolved from the Sunshine Policy to the Moon Jae-in administration’s Korean Peninsula peace process, Park openly criticized this approach.

It is not easy to criticize the Sunshine Policy, which was one of the reasons former President Kim received the Nobel Peace Prize. Candidate Park said, "The intention behind that (statement) was probably pure," but added firmly, "Biden believes that the sunshine ultimately went not downwards but upwards; he sees it as a failed policy."

The phrase ‘went upwards’ means that the material and economic support provided to North Korea did not reach the people but went to the leadership such as Kim Jong-il and Kim Jong-un. Ultimately, this indicates a significant difference between the Biden administration’s North Korea policy and the Moon administration’s policy, which inherited the Sunshine Policy’s framework.

Of course, there are also voices of caution regarding candidate Park’s pursuit of ‘complete denuclearization of North Korea.’

During a recent visit to the U.S., Park mentioned the term ‘Complete, Verifiable, and Irreversible Denuclearization (CVID)’ in meetings with officials. CVID is a term coined by neoconservatives who led the hardline North Korea policy during the George W. Bush administration. It was one of the causes that led to the stalemate of the Six-Party Talks.

In this context, Park’s North Korea policy recalls the ‘Denuclearization and Opening 3000’ policy of the Lee Myung-bak administration. President Lee, who took office during a time when the Six-Party Talks, inter-Korean summits, and North Korea-U.S. dialogues were progressing smoothly, emphasized a pragmatic approach to North Korea policy.

However, by reusing CVID and advocating Denuclearization and Opening 3000?which promised to raise North Korea’s per capita GDP to $3,000 if it gave up its nuclear weapons?the administration missed a golden opportunity. This policy also failed, as incidents like the Cheonan sinking and Yeonpyeong Island shelling occurred.

The new government is launching amid a difficult situation, described as a new Cold War era, with continued North Korean military provocations, U.S.-China rivalry, and U.S.-Russia confrontation.

At times like this, candidate Park needs to respond wisely and decisively. With the same courage he showed in openly criticizing the Sunshine Policy, he must also criticize Denuclearization and Opening 3000 as "not the way." This means that the North Korea policy framework should not be chosen based on partisan logic.

Moreover, responding only with a hardline stance to North Korea’s military provocations is not the best strategy; it is the worst. Through the Korea-U.S. alliance and trilateral cooperation among Korea, the U.S., and Japan, it is necessary to pursue deterrence against North Korea while also carefully considering a complex and sophisticated best strategy that secures stability on the Korean Peninsula and lays the groundwork for resuming dialogue.