'Ireland could be model for inter-Korean ties'

By Kim Young-jin

Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s minister for transport, tourism and sport Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

Ireland’s cooperation experience with Northern Ireland could serve as a model to help thaw the frigid ties between the two Korea’s, a senior Irish official said Thursday.

Leo Varadkar, Ireland’s minister for transport, tourism and sport, said during a visit to Seoul that a North-South ministerial counsel had been instrumental in confidence-building with North Ireland.

The counsel is a “structured arrangement whereby there is a joint secretariat and I meet my counterpart in the North twice a year and we work on joint projects,” Varadkar told The Korea Times. “It’s not exactly the same as it would be in Korea, but it is a potential model that could become useful to follow if relations between the two parts become closer.”

Tensions are soaring between the two Koreas following Pyongyang’s third nuclear test, but President Park Geun-hye has pledged to try to build trust with the recalcitrant Kim Jong-un regime.

Last year, Irish officials met with officials from the Ministry of Unification to discuss ways to share their knowledge on a similar situation.

“There is an interest about Korea in Ireland because of the divided nature of our island. Even though it’s different, there are parallels and people find that interesting,” he said during an interview at the Korea Foundation Cultural Center and Gallery, which is hosting an exhibition to mark 30 years of diplomatic relations between Ireland and South Korea.

Varadkar was in Seoul on a two-day trip ahead of St. Patrick’s Day, which falls on Sunday. Irish officials traditionally travel to other countries on the occasion to bolster foreign relations.

He met with Seoul officials to discuss the upcoming inclusion of Irish veterans of the Korean War (1950-53) in the Revisit Tour, which helps foreign veterans visit the country. In April, a memorial to the Irish who died during the conflict will be erected at the War Memorial of Korea.

Ireland was not a member of the United Nations during the war and was not officially a contributor to the UN Command. However, Irishmen enlisted in the British Army. Irish-born personnel also fought with the U.S., Australian, New Zealand and Canadian forces.

Varadkar said the recognition of their services was important for the engagement process on his island.

“For a long time in Ireland, (their service) wasn’t really respected, or sometimes frowned upon. As part of our reconciliation process between the North and South of Ireland, that’s really changed. Even though the Korean government is recognizing these Irish veterans, it’s also Ireland and Irish people recognizing them too in a way we didn’t in past.”

The minister was slated to host a St. Patrick’s Day reception Thursday night, which would also mark the anniversary of diplomatic ties. He expressed interest in boosting trade relations between the countries as well as people-to-people exchanges.

According to the Irish Embassy, more than 900 Irish citizens reside in Korea, including about 600 who are teaching English. Some 400 Koreans a year travel to Ireland to study under a working holiday agreement between the sides.

Varadkar hinted that trade and investment might pick up pace given signs of economic recovery.

“Trade and investment isn’t what it might have been largely because of the problems of the global economy in recent years. They have now subsided, so I think there is a new opportunity that wasn’t there in the past.”