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Tue, August 9, 2022 | 17:34
Foreign Affairs
Foreign ministry to ramp up unification efforts
윤병세 "평화통일 환경조성 노력 본격 전개"
Posted : 2014-02-28 17:04
Updated : 2014-02-28 17:04
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By Chung Min-uck

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said Friday his ministry will actively seek to create favorable global conditions for the peaceful unification of South and North Korea.

"We will make aggressive and active efforts to create an environment favorable to peaceful unification," said Seoul's top diplomat in a speech at a local forum. "The coming four years will mark a watershed in our efforts to build peace on the Korean peninsula."

"Unification" has become a buzzword after President Park Geun-hye said the Korean peninsula's unification would be a "bonanza" in terms of economic benefits.

The 1950-53 Korean War divided the peninsula into the capitalist South and the communist North, and the two Koreas technically remain at war because hostilities ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty.

Yun further noted that Park's push for unification reflects the benefits it would bring in the security sector as well.

The minister explained that Pyongyang may now face a new round of challenges similar to what it went through in the 1970s when communist China established diplomatic relations with the U.S., and the 1990s when the Berlin Wall was demolished in the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union.

"I think now is a time when upheaval is taking place simultaneously regarding the situation on the Korean peninsula as well as in world politics," Yun said. "How North Korea will ride things out this time will be a key point of interest."

More than two years have passed since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un took control of the Stalinist country, but his regime appears shaky in the eyes of some experts.

In December, Kim executed Jang Song-thaek, his uncle and former No. 2 man, which led some experts to suggest the 31-year-old leader was losing his grip on his domestic power base.

China's open criticism of North Korea's nuclear program has also undermined the North's diplomatic leverage given China is its most important ally.

Amid the change, South Korea has been taking a dual policy of using both pressure and dialogue in its efforts to make Pyongyang give up its nuclear weapons program.

"North Korea is seeking dialogue offensives, but it has not shown any change toward denuclearization. Rather, the country is pushing forward with its nuclear capacities even more," he said. "A policy of using both effective sanctions toward the North and principled denuclearization talks will be sought."


윤병세 "평화통일 환경조성 노력 본격 전개"

윤병세 외교부 장관은 28일 '국제사회에서 평화 통일에 유리한 환경을 조성하는 노력을 본격적이고 적극적으로 전개하겠다'고 밝혔다.

윤 장관은 이날 현대경제연구원 주최로 서울 플라자호텔에서 열린 '한반도 경제포럼'에 참석, '최근 한반도 정세 진단과 평화 해법 모색'을 주제로 한 강연에서 '앞으로 4년은 한반도 평화 구축의 분수령'이라면서 이같이 말했다.

그는 '주변국들이 (한반도) 현상 유지를 선호한다는 고정관념이 많은데 한반도와 동북아 정세(변화)에 따라 주변국 시각도 서서히 진화하는 게 아닌가 생각한다'고 밝혔다.

윤 장관은 최근 정세에 대해 '1970년대 초 미·중관계 정상화, 남북 7.4공동성명 발표가 있었고, 1990년대 초 독일 통일과 남북 기본합의서 채택, 한반도 비핵화 공동선언 등이 있었다'면서 '이번에 다시 국제 정세와 한반도 정세가 동시다발적 지각변동을 일으키는 상황이 아닌가 생각한다'고 진단했다.

그는 '(이 상황을) 북한 입장에서 보면 세 번째로 맞는 어려움이 아니겠느냐'면서 '북한이 이런 어려움을 과거에 극복했던 것과 비교할 때 이번에 어떻게 극복할 것인가는 또 하나의 관전 포인트가 될 것'이라고 덧붙였다.

윤 장관은 박근혜 대통령이 주창한 '통일대박론'에 대해서는 '통일이 한반도와 동북아 지역, 관련 이해당사자에 큰 경제적 혜택을 줄 수 있지만 이에 못지않게 안보적 혜택을 준다는 뜻도 포함돼 있다'고 강조했다.

그는 소강상태인 북한 비핵화 대화에 대해서는 '북한이 대화 공세를 취하면서 비핵화 측면은 전혀 변화가 없고 오히려 핵 능력을 고도화하고 있다'면서 '효과적인 대북 제재와 원칙 있는 비핵화 대화를 병행 추진하겠다'고 말했다.

윤 장관은 또 '유엔 북한인권조사위원회(COI)가 최근 제출한 북한 인권 보고서는 유엔 인권이사회나 관련 국제무대에서 상당히 많이 논의될 것'이라면서 '(북한 인권 문제는) 한반도 정세에 상당히 영향을 미칠 수 있는 중요한 요인'이라고 강조했다.

그는 한중관계에 대해 '시진핑 중국 국가주석이 올해 중 늦지 않은 시기에 방한할 것으로 생각하고 그보다 앞서 왕이 외교장관이 방문할 것 같다'며 '작년 한중 정상회담 후속조치는 95% 달성됐다고 할 수 있는 정도'라고 평가했다.

한일관계에 대해서는 '한일관계는 역사문제 때문에 터널 끝이 아직도 보이지 않는다'면서 '올바른 역사인식에 기초해 안정적으로 발전할 수 있는 궤도에 오를 수 있도록 일본이 '결자해지' 측면에서 진정성 있는 노력을 많이 해야 한다'고 밝혔다. (연합뉴스)
Emailmuchung@koreatimes.co.kr Article ListMore articles by this reporter
 
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