ed Building trust in N-E Asia

Realize 'Seoul Process' through active diplomacy

President Park Geun-hye proposed an initiative for peace and cooperation in Northeast Asia during her speech to a joint session of the U.S. Congress Wednesday. Noting that Asia suffers from "Asia’s paradox,’’ she said the region can’t afford to put off a multilateral dialogue process. "Together, the United States and other Northeast Asian partners could start with softer issues. These include environmental issues and disaster relief. They also include nuclear safety and counter-terrorism.’’

As the nation’s first female leader said, differences stemming from history in the region are widening. In addition to the looming nuclear threat from North Korea, China and Japan are engaged in territorial disputes in the East China Sea. Tokyo’s rightward shift is creating a stir to such an extent that it is all but impossible to think of regional cooperation. America’s ‘’pivot’’ to Asia has also strained Beijing, which is becoming more assertive.

Therefore, few will deny the need for a Northeast Asia peace and cooperation initiative or the "Seoul Process.’’ It’s also meaningful that Seoul and Washington agreed to strengthen and adapt their 60-year-old alliance to serve as a lynchpin of peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region.

We believe that South Korea deserves to take the lead in materializing the peace initiative, given its spectacular political and economic development in a short span of time and its possible mediating role between Beijing and Tokyo, the world’s second and third largest economies. It’s also encouraging that Washington welcomed Seoul’s leadership and active engagement on the world stage at the joint declaration of the 60th anniversary of their alliance.

The Seoul Process ― a separate initiative from Park’s trustpolitik of denuclearizing and changing North Korea simultaneously ― envisions tackling common softer issues first and building trust through multilateral dialogue. And that trust will propel the regional nations to ultimately settle sensitive political issues such as security and territory disputes.

Park’s gradual approach ― from easy issues to tricky ones ― is right, given that there are always problems that must be addressed together by Seoul, Beijing and Tokyo. Nonetheless, the road to the realization of the Seoul Process will be long and rough.

More than anything else, the nations in Northeast Asia are poles apart in terms of thinking. And pending issues between them ― mostly historical and territorial matters ― are so grave that neither of them will be able to yield. It’s also doubtful if South Korea has a political clout to let the powerful nations join the process, considering its limited national power.

President Park will begin talking with other nations soon to substantiate her initiative, which will be a litmus test to gauge the diplomatic competence of the new administration. The presidential office and the government’s diplomatic and security team will have to draw up elaborate strategies and pool wisdom to solicit cooperation from the countries concerned.