By Kang Seung-woo
A cooperative network to secure stronger international support for the reunification of the Korean Peninsula in the mid- to long-term will officially be launched Tuesday.
The group, tentatively referred to as the “Korean Peninsula Club,” is comprised of 21 foreign ambassadors in Seoul who cover both South and North Korea.
The 21 ambassadors have their own meeting, called the “Pyongyang Club.”
The member states are comprised of 15 European countries, while others include Canada, Mexico and the United Arab Emirates.
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se is scheduled to host an inaugural meeting at the ministry.
Yun plans to explain the government’s mid- to long-term foreign policy plans as well as the results of inter-Korean high-level talks that took place twice last week at the border village of Panmunjeom for the upcoming family reunions between Feb. 20 and 25.
Earlier this month, the ministry detailed the plan in a policy report to President Park Geun-hye as Seoul seeks to lay a firmer foundation for both political and economic support from the international community for the reunification of the peninsula.
The ministry said that it would step up discussions and strategic dialogue with the South’s key partners and strengthen reunification networks with other middle power countries and friends including Mexico, Indonesia, Korea, Turkey, and Australia.
The government expects the club to help in bilateral relations.
“Through the ambassadors who are also accredited to North Korea, messages from the international community will be better delivered to the North and we can also take advantage of their knowledge of the country,” said a government official.
“Naturally, we can establish a system to analyze uncertainty and volatility in the North thanks to them.”
The ministry plans to hold a meeting once every quarter.
Amid growing fears of a possible fourth nuclear test by the North, the South plans 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).
PETA is aimed at curbing further progress of North Korea’s nuclear capacity through strong and effective pressure, paving the way for disarmament talks, according to the ministry.