Regional powers raising voices on North Korea dialogue

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, left, shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their summit in Russia's Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, April 25. / Yonhap

By Yi Whan-woo

• Published Apr 28, 2019 3:19 PM KST
• Updated Apr 28, 2019 8:57 PM KST

President Moon's plans to play role as mediator in jeopardy

By Yi Whan-woo

Regional powers on the Korean Peninsula appear to be seeking a stronger role in denuclearizing North Korea. Until now, these powers have mainly left the United States and the two Koreas to deal with the issue.

The Hanoi summit breakdown led to stalemate in U.S.-North Korea denuclearization talks, with the U.S. insisting on “big deals” and asking for complete and full denuclearization.

The U.S. demand is opposed to North Korean-style “small deals” that seek phased steps on denuclearization and the easing of sanctions on the Kim Jong-un regime.

The U.S. remains unchanged in its “all-or-nothing” strategy, forcing North Korea to seek support from Russia and China and enhancing the alliance among the three Cold War allies.

Against the backdrop, Russia appeared to be stepping up as the “mediator,” which President Moon Jae-in has underscored as his role on North Korea, when Russian President Vladimir Putin and Kim met for the first time in Russia’s Far Eastern city of Vladivostok, April 25.

The leaders of Russia and China held their respective summit in Beijing, April 28. Political experts see the meeting as a message that the two, after having the U.S. take initiatives on denuclearization, will step in and play a role accordingly.

For Japan, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe met U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington, D.C., April 26 and discussed sanctions on North Korea.

Abe also sought Trump’s cooperation on holding a summit with Kim to resolve issues on Japanese people abducted by North Korea.

Abe’s step came after speculation that Japan may be left out among the stake holders on the Peninsula, with the U.S. and the two Korea engaging in denuclearization talks.

The Atlantic magazine assessed that Putin and Abe were trying to “muscle their way” into the Kim-Trump dialogue.

It said their involvement pointed to “a new (and yet old) dynamic” in the negotiations, adding that this would only further complicate a stalled diplomatic process.

The magazine noted that Abe had sought to advance his nation’s interests by nurturing a personal friendship with Trump, whom it called “America’s volatile, nationalist, and thoroughly transactional president.”

Park Won-gon, an international relations professor at Handong Global University, said President Moon would need to show “his presence as the mediator” on denuclearization issues.

Kim snubbed at Moon after the Hanoi summit breakdown, complaining about Moon’s role as “mediator” and “facilitator” and claimed that the South should act as a “directly involved party” on denuclearization.

Meanwhile, Putin underscored a peaceful resolution of the North’s nuclear quandary during his summit with Kim.

The much-anticipated summit was seen as a key test of Kim’s diplomatic outreach aimed at breaking the logjam in the parley with the U.S., easing sanctions pressure and catalyzing his lackluster drive for economic development.

According to Pyongyang’s state-run Korean Central News Agency, Kim strongly criticized Washington for taking a ‘”unilateral attitude in bad faith” that caused the diplomatic standstill following the meeting with Trump in Hanoi.

He also told Putin that the situation on the Peninsula had reached a “critical point” and whether tensions resumed would “entirely depend on the U.S. future attitude.”

Putin said Russia would continue to try to reduce tensions on the peninsula, while stressing the need for an “international” security guarantee for the North.

His remarks, according to diplomatic experts, hint at Russia’s desire to carve out a role in ongoing efforts for a lasting peace on the peninsula, where Moscow has only rarely been substantively involved.

Putin called for three-way economic cooperation between the two Koreas and also Russia.

Regarding about 10,000 North Korean workers who face repatriation at the end of this year under U.N. sanctions, Putin called the North Koreans “good, hard-working, orderly” workers, saying there were “calm and non-confrontational” solutions.

Putin did not elaborate, but Professor Park speculated that Kim may have asked Putin a way to extend the workers’ stay. The workers are a source of foreign cash for the impoverished Kim regime.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said, “Kim appears to have made a breakthrough at the Vladivostok summit” for the stalled negotiation with the U.S.

Professor Park agreed.

“There was no public statement on the part of Russia in support of the North’s denuclearization policy,” he said. “Russia appears to have taken the U.S. stance much into consideration, while pushing for multilateral dialogue for the denuclearization process.”

The Trump-Abe summit involved talks on North Korea, in addition to trade and Trump’s planned visit to Japan.

Trump, despite the Hanoi summit breakdown, said he and Kim had an excellent relationship.

“I think we’re doing very well with North Korea,” Trump said. “A lot of progress is being made. I appreciated President Putin’s statement yesterday. He wants to see it done, also. I think there’s a lot of excitement toward getting a deal done with North Korea.”

He thanked Russia and China, saying “China is helping us because I think they want to — they don’ need nuclear weapons right next to their country.”

“But I also think they’re helping us because the U.S. and China are engaged in trade talks.”

President Moon has sought talks with Pyongyang after the collapse of the Hanoi summit, sending a special envoy.

But the North has not shown any official response, fueling speculation it may have refused Moon’s offer.

This was somewhat different from the summits last year, because Cheong Wa Dae at the time unveiled plans to send special envoys to the North before announcing that Moon would hold a summit with Kim.The two Koreas held three summits last year, and the first and the third ones took place after the South sent special delegations to the North.