Envoy on 'distance' diplomacy with NK
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Italian Ambassador to Korea Sergio Mercuri speaks during an interview with The Korea Times at his office in Seoul, Tuesday. / Korea Times
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Sergio Mercuri’s dual mission to serve as Italian ambassador to South and North Korea since December 2010 has kept him busy.
This year, he squeezed another demanding task, preparations for the 130th anniversary of the establishment of Korea-Italy diplomatic relations, into his busy schedule.
Ambassador Mercuri admitted that performing ‘distance’ diplomacy with North Korea is challenging, partly because of the time-consuming procedure to enter the North.
He has no office to stay at in Pyongyang because Italy has yet to establish diplomatic relations with North Korea, despite the European nation’s recognition of the reclusive nation.
“Traveling to North Korea is quite complicated,” the envoy lamented in a recent interview with The Korea Times.
To go to the North, the Italian ambassador explained, he needs to talk to the regime first to inform it of his visit and then wait until the North gives him the green light to travel there. “It takes time to get there. My expectation was that ambassadors could visit the North without such a time-consuming process,” Mercuri said.
Since 2004, Italian ambassadors to South Korea have been mandated to concurrently serve as envoys to the North.
Ambassador Mercuri said that he has been to the North “a few times for cooperative activities” since he arrived in Seoul. His latest visit to the North was September last year.
“Once I get there, I try to stay a few days because of the complicated process to enter North Korea,” he said.
In Seoul, there are 20 other foreign ambassadors who are concurrently serving as envoys to the two Koreas, just like Mercuri.
The 20 include the ambassadors from Canada, Mexico, Spain and the United Arab Emirates.
Mercuri said the 20 envoys have met from time to time to share difficulties, problems and hindrances they face in their distance diplomacy dealing with North Korea.
Some media labeled their get-together as the “Pyongyang Club.”
“Our get-together is informal. What I mean with the term of an informal group is that there is no format, no institutions and no rules that govern the group.”
Mercuri, however, noted the informal society is a tool of diplomacy.
On Tuesday, Mercuri and his 20 colleague ambassadors participated in the launch of the “Peninsula Club” by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In opening remarks, Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se said the ministry decided to launch such a get-together with foreign ambassadors to better handle North Korean issues.
“There has been a consensus that time is ripe for us to start discussions about the future of the Korean Peninsula. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will cooperate with you ambassadors as close partners to share our experiences and views regarding the North for the sake of peaceful reunification and trust diplomacy,” Yun said.
The two sides are to meet on a regular basis to share information on the North, which has drawn keen international attention since the execution of Jang Song-thaek, the uncle of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
The foreign ministry also plans to have a similar format of regular meetings with ambassadors from 24 countries that have embassies in Pyongyang. The 24 include China, Russia, Britain, Sweden and Germany.
130th anniversary
In addition to the dual mission of dealing with South and North Korea, Mercuri had another reason to be busy. This year marks the 130th anniversary of the establishment of Korea-Italy diplomatic relations.
The Italian Embassy is preparing a total of 35 big and small events, which includes concerts, seminars and exhibitions, to be held from February.
The exhibition of “Machiavelli the Renaissance Man” to showcase his works and thoughts slated for March 24 at the National Library of Korea is one of the 35 projects the Italian Embassy is now preparing for.
Ambassador Mercuri noted that Italy’s bilateral relations with Korea began far before the two sides established diplomatic relations 130 years ago.
“We have a map produced in the 15th century in Venice and Korea was on the map. This shows that we, Italians, had knowledge of the existence of this country in those days.”
The envoy indicated that some aspects of “truly Italy” have yet to be known to many Koreans.
Mercuri gave an example of the advanced high-tech industry of the European country as one of the lesser known areas among Koreans.
The envoy cited Italian company Finmecannica, a leading industrial group in the high technology sector, as an example showing how the country has also global competitiveness in the high tech area. The company is one of the global players in aerospace, defense and security.
The Italian ambassador indicated that Italy’s strengths in other areas seemed not to draw due attention from Koreans, compared with fashion or culinary industries.