We must create a Korean Peninsula of reconciliation and coexistence

By Jeon Su-mi

Recently, as North Korea roamed our airspace with its drones. President Yoon Seok Yeol said, "To achieve peace, we must prepare for an overwhelmingly superior war." Is he saying that prevention is better than cure? As U.S.-North Korea relations change again and trust between them collapses, it is necessary for us to be prepared for North Korea's self-defense measures that will likely follow.

On the other hand, an improvement of inter-Korean relations is not just a by-product of the U.S.-North Korea relationship but is also required so as to secure the "motive power to promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula." It is no coincidence that the Kim Dae-jung administration, which hoped for speedy reunification through the Sunshine Policy, prepared for a sudden change in North Korea.

However, based on what President Yoon has said since the time he was a candidate about "preemptive strikes" and "the main enemy being North Korea" and, since his election, that he would punish any provocation by North Korea, we feel in real time that the Korean Peninsula, which has entered a strong vs. strong climate, is becoming a Northeast Asian powder keg.

The change in the international order in the post-Cold War era is undoubtedly a new challenge for the Republic of Korea. The strategic struggle between the U.S. and China has now become a dominant and far-reaching international and regional issue. For South Korea, the United States is its only ally, while China is a neighbor and strategic cooperative partner with whom we are economically interdependent. We are in a very difficult position in terms of diplomacy and security in the midst of this U.S.-China strategic rivalry.

Nonetheless, the current government is pursuing a one-sided foreign and security policy based on the fixed and polarized approach of the past. Although South Korea is approaching the ranks of the G-7 and boasts an economy in the world's top ten, it does not demonstrate strategic diplomacy to match it because, while it has enjoyed high economic growth and achieved democratization in a short period of time, it has failed to develop its diplomatic capabilities to match.

The new diplomatic and security challenges that have emerged recently have made things more difficult. This is because an atmosphere is forming in which major powers reinforce nationalistic policies and the formation of regional blocs. We are also confronting challenges such as new security threats from the 4th industrial revolution, the pandemic, the climate crisis and supply chain expansion. Nevertheless, in terms of the diplomacy and security of the Republic of Korea in the 21st century, we are still dancing between ideologies and factions.

Diplomatic issues too are still dependent on the governing party's place on the ideological and partisan spectrum, either emphasizing international cooperation with a pro-U.S. or alliance-centered approach, or being somewhat anti-U.S. and pro-China and valuing ethnocentric cooperation. The current government, like the conservative governments of the past, is pursuing anti-communist, pro-American policies, talking of North Korea as its main enemy, talking about war and using this to serve its domestic political agenda.

In the era of Kim Dae-jung, Korea recast the painful ordeal of the division of the Korean peninsula as a hope for reconciliation and coexistence, rather than anger and retaliation. As a new player on the world stage, South Korea should take the lead in promoting international cooperation and solidarity to resolve the North Korean problem, because denuclearization and permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula are key tasks of the moment and are diplomatic goals that can never be given up.

This should not be a confrontation with North Korea based on anti-communism and militarism, but a flexible engagement based on the Republic of Korea's economic, military and soft power to secure its own diplomatic and security needs. In response to the rapidly changing security environment, including North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, the U.S.-China rivalry and the regional arms race, in addition to having our own deterrence capabilities, we must also supplement this with working to ease tensions through security diplomacy.

In addition, the government needs to take a patient and consistent approach so that North Korea can participate in inter-Korean dialogue. Since the causes of the North Korean problem are very complex, various and diverse methods are required. In addition, in dialogue with North Korea, the government needs to pursue powerful negotiations in which it can speak confidently while simultaneously weighing the benefits and costs. In the future, by transcending the confrontation that characterizes the Korean Peninsula and transforming it toward worldwide universality and global altruism, we look forward to the Republic of Korea becoming a global pivotal country that contributes to the historical progress of security diplomacy.

Jeon Su-mi (sumijeon@ssu.ac.kr), an attorney, is an invited professor at the Soongsil Institute for Peace and Unification. She was a member of the Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation. Her areas of specialty include South Korean politics and foreign policy, North Korea politics and human rights.