Flexibility on North Korea

By Na Jeong-ju

Politics editor

Washington is seemingly unhappy with Seoul's “unilateral” move to revive the long-stalled economic projects with Pyongyang.

What worries the Donald Trump administration most is possible damage the progress in inter-Korean relations could bring to the sanctions regime against North Korea while it sees no tangible results from the denuclearization talks.

Trump's frustration with South Korea's approach toward the North is well reflected in his recent remarks. He said Seoul will not lift sanctions on Pyongyang without U.S. approval. South Korea “does nothing” without U.S. approval, Trump said.

Soon after, however, South Korea agreed with the North to begin reconnecting railroads and highways across their border in a couple of months.

From a U.S. perspective, this could be seen as a slap in the face. Some U.S. politicians are even raising concerns that the Moon Jae-in administration's “idealistic” North Korea policy is causing a rift in the alliance.

However, this is rather an expression of South Korea's own frustration with the U.S. stubbornness about maintaining sanctions while they are not working properly and North Korea is showing sincerity. The North Korean economy has become durable despite the sanctions. Most of all, the Moon administration is seeing some existing sanctions as an obstacle in bringing inter-Korean ties back on track, and thus moving the peace process forward.

Probably, Seoul might have consulted details of the envisioned railway project with Washington first before coming to the agreement with Pyongyang. This is because, as Trump described, South Korea's diplomatic options regarding the North are very limited without U.S. backing.

The U.S. has linked lifting sanctions to concrete denuclearization steps North Korea takes. But as we all know, denuclearization is a long process of tough negotiations. It cannot be achieved without concessions from each concerned party.

The U.S. hesitance to ease sanctions could give the impression that it is not willing to proceed with the negotiations with North Korea further. The nuclear talks surely need a fresh momentum now, and the U.S. can provide it.

In this regard, it is time for Washington to consider ending the Korean War as a realistic option for denuclearization. The two Koreas want it, and China wants it as well.

Declaring the end of the war this year has already been agreed upon between the leaders of the two Koreas, and even Trump welcomed it during his summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore in April.

Surely, the declaration, if realized, will be a crucial moment in moving the denuclearization process forward and consolidating peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Because the declaration of the end of the war is only a “political proclamation,” as President Moon put it, it does not hurt U.S. security interests at all. It is rather an expression of a common will to end mutual hostility and coexist peacefully. Most of all, North Korea, which had demanded withdrawal of the U.S. military from South Korea as a precondition for peace, gave a tacit agreement for the continued presence of troops even after the two Koreas are united.

Washington needs to realize that the declaration of the end of the war is not advantageous for only Pyongyang, but an important means of accelerating the denuclearization talks with North Korea.

In other words, the U.S. demand for North Korea's submission of its nuclear list cannot be met without progress in bilateral relations. They need to set up liaison offices first to promote exchanges and then declaring the end of the war can come next.

The declaration could be a starting point for efforts to ensure permanent peace on the peninsula.