By Kang Seung-woo
The government is seeking to hold a meeting of the 21 foreign ambassadors in Seoul who cover both South and North Korea in an effort to better utilize their knowledge of and connections to the North, the foreign ministry said Thursday.
The group has been tentatively named the Korean Peninsula Club.
The plan comes as Seoul is set to maintain its strategy of using both pressure and dialogue to urge Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear programs ― labeling the strategy as a principled and effective two-track approach (PETA).
According to the foreign ministry, the basic substance of PETA is to curb further sophistication of North Korea’s nuclear capacity through strong and effective pressure on the one hand, while paving the way for disarmament talks on the other.
“PETA is a roadmap for the ultimate goal of complete denuclearization of North Korea,” said a ministry official.
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said that he, “will make efforts to secure the international community’s support to seek and encourage changes in North Korea.”
Amid growing speculation that North Korea may take provocative actions against its southern neighbor, the South will strengthen strategic cooperation with the United States and China in hopes of deterring such action and denuclearizing the Stalinist country.
“Amid the increasing uncertainty and unpredictability of North Korea’s Kim Jong-un regime, the North is presumed to keep pursuing its policy of seeking both nuclear weapons and economic development, while further accelerating its nuclear arms capabilities,” Yun said in a policy report to President Park Geun-hye.
The foreign ministry said it plans to use its system of collaboration with the U.S. and China in order to build up strong deterrence and contingency measures against North Korea’s potential military provocations, and to expedite multilateral efforts to prod the North to quit its nuclear arms program.
As part of the tighter collaboration, Seoul will push for more high-level South Korea-U.S. talks, including a summit between Park and U.S. President Barack Obama.
Chinese President Xi Jinping's is likely to visit Seoul this year, following Park's visit to Beijing in 2013 as the two countries seek better relations.