By Kim Hyo-jin
The United States and Japan expressed negative responses to the South Korean government’s proposal for inter-Korean dialogue to North Korea, Monday.
This came after Seoul proposed that the two Koreas hold military talks to ease tension along the border, and Red Cross talks to resume reunions of separated families, follow-up measures to President Moon Jae-in’s peace overture made during his Berlin speech in early July.
When asked about U.S. President Donald Trump’s position on Seoul’s proposal, White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer expressed reservations, saying conditions for talks with North Korea were not currently present.
“Well, obviously those comments came out of the Republic of Korea and I would refer you back to them,” Spicer said during a regular press briefing.
“That being said, I think the president has made clear in the past with respect that any type of conditions that would have to be met are clearly far away from where we are now.”
Japan responded with a clearly negative tone, saying now was the time to increase pressure on North Korea.
“This is not a time for dialogue. This is a time for pressure,” Japan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Norio Maruyama said during a press conference in New York where Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida was attending a United Nations meeting.
Stressing that North Korea had reached “a new level” with its latest launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile July 4, Maruyama said increasing international actions was now essential in order to conduct a “serious dialogue” with the North in the future.
“Dialogue for the sake of dialogue is meaningless,” he noted.
On the U.S. response, Seoul’s unification ministry insisted Tuesday that there was no gap between the two countries in assessing conditions for talks with Pyongyang.
“We don’t see a difference in our understanding,” a ministry official told reporters.
He said the government had fully explained through diplomatic channels the planned offer for dialogue before its announcement and earned full understanding from Washington.
“The unification minister has repeatedly mentioned since his inauguration that inter-Korean talks should aim at freeze of its nuclear program and denuclearization. The government’s offer this time does not mean that conditions for a full-fledged dialogue have been met,” he said.
“They’re early-stage talks to ease tension and deal with humanitarian issues.”
The official added the government will continue working on approaches to the North “in close coordination” with the U.S.
Meanwhile, China hailed Moon’s offer. Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang said in a press briefing: “We hope that the two Koreas will make efforts to break the stalemate and create conditions for a resumption of negotiations.”
Pundits say that Moon’s offer means that he will not wait until the right conditions for talks with the North are met; rather he intends to make the conditions on his own initiative.
“The government is seeking to bring about such conditions through inter-Korean talks,” said Nam Sung-wook, a professor of North Korean Studies at Korea University.
Regarding Spicer’s comment, he said, “It seems the U.S. meant it would wait and see how South Korea would take its conciliatory approach. But it is worried that Seoul’s independent line could be taken too far.”