Kang Seung-woo is the Business Desk editor at The Korea Times. Prior to this position, he covered politics, national affairs, finance and sports.
Foreign minister asks for international support for Korea's peace efforts
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha attends a virtual foreign ministerial session of the East Asia Summit at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Seoul, Wednesday. / Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs
By Kang Seung-woo
By Kang Seung-woo
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha has called on the international community to support the Korean Peninsula peace process and resumption of stalled nuclear talks among North Korea, the United States and the South, according to the ministry, Thursday.
With regard to the South China Sea dispute, she stressed the importance of freedom of navigation and peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue.
She made the remarks, Wednesday, during a video-linked foreign ministerial session of the East Asia Summit (EAS) that involved the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, in addition to China, Japan, the United States, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, India and South Korea.
“Kang said the Korean Peninsula peace process has made little progress over the past year, but efforts toward the denuclearization of the peninsula, based on agreements between South and North Korea and between the North and the U.S., must continue,” the ministry said in a press statement.
“For the faithful implementation of the agreements and the early resumption of dialogue, she called for support from the international community, including the EAS.”
In response, other participants noted the importance of dialogue with the North for denuclearization and peace on the peninsula, but mentioned the need for the enforcement of U.N. Security Council sanctions against the Kim Jong-un regime.
The EAS meeting, along with other ASEAN-related gatherings, took place as the hegemonic rivalry between the U.S. and China has been intensifying. While the two powerhouses have urged South Korea to pick their respective side, it has remained neutral in the conflict because Washington is its longtime ally while Beijing is its largest trading partner.
At this time, Korea once again maintained “strategic ambiguity,” with the foreign minister saying freedom of navigation and overflights in the South China Sea should be guaranteed and the issue needs to be resolved in a peaceful manner.
“Minister Kang mentioned that peace and stability in the South China Sea is crucial for regional prosperity,” the ministry said.
Earlier in the day, Kang also attended a virtual meeting between ASEAN members and its three dialogue partners ― South Korea, China and Japan ― and stressed the need to boost multilateral cooperation to overcome health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Kang noted that ASEAN Plus Three has effectively operated a multilateral cooperation regime at times of crises like the Asia financial crisis and SARS, and stressed the need for cooperation based on such past experiences when dealing with COVID-19 as well,” her office said. ASEAN Plus Three is a forum of the ASEAN nations also including China, Japan and South Korea.
It was the first session in the series of ASEAN-related meetings slated to take place this week via videoconference due to the coronavirus that has disrupted in-person diplomacy. She subsequently took part in a South Korea-ASEAN foreign ministers' meeting.