Moon seeks to settle row over UAE military deal
By Kim Rahn
President Moon Jae-in's visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from March 24 to 27 is drawing attention as it follows rumors and controversy over an alleged secret military deal between the two nations, and the Moon administration's nuclear power-free policy.
With nearly a month of heated arguments and counter-arguments between the ruling and opposition blocs, the suspicions were wrapped up temporarily after the UAE crown prince's special envoy came to Korea early January and the two nations announced an agreement on increasing cooperation while avoiding mention of any of the allegations.
Moon's visit is allegedly aimed to mend the still strained ties with the Middle Eastern country, especially considering presidential chief of staff Im Jong-seok, who went to the UAE in December as Moon's special envoy, will accompany him. It is rare for a presidential chief of staff to accompany a president because the former has to take charge of domestic affairs in the latter's absence.
The suspicions started during Im's visit to the UAE. The government initially said he went to boost the morale of Korean soldiers in the Akh unit dispatched there, but it later said he also paid a courtesy call on Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Im was allegedly there to mitigate the UAE government's concerns over the possible impact of Moon's nuclear phase-out policy, as Korean companies have been building the first Korean-built nuclear power plant in Barakah after winning the bid for the $18.6 billion project in 2009 during President Lee Myung-bak's term. Construction of one of the four reactors has almost been completed.
If the Barakah project stumbles, it would impact the Korean government's bids for a nuclear plant project in Saudi Arabia, according to those who raised worries over the future of the reactor project.
However, another allegation emerged that the visit was to mitigate disputes over a military deal reached by the former Lee administration, which was related to the nuclear project.
As the allegation grew, former Defense Minister Kim Tae-young who served under Lee admitted Korea signed a secret deal with the UAE to send troops there automatically if the Middle Eastern country became engaged in a military conflict.
Kim said the deal was inevitable and was necessary for Korea to win the nuclear project bid. As dispatching troops to a foreign country requires National Assembly approval, and because a veto was forecast, the Lee administration decided to make it a closed provision that did not require such approval, he added.
But despite Kim's admission, the Moon government did not confirm anything about the allegations, saying it was diplomatically improper for one country to unilaterally disclose agreements with another country.
On Jan. 9, Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority of Abu Dhabi, came to Korea as the crown prince's special envoy and met with Im and Moon. They said nothing about the suspicions, but Al Mubarak hinted there was a rift ― by comparing the bilateral relations to marriage, he said, “In marital life, there are good things and bad things. But in marital life, the couple tries to overcome the bad things,” according to Cheong Wa Dae.
The next day, Moon said in his New Year press conference that military agreements and MOUs signed under the 2003-08 Roh Moo-hyun administration were disclosed to the public, while those signed under the Lee and Park Geun-hye governments were not. “If there were flaws in the undisclosed agreements or MOUs, we'll talk with the UAE over revising or supplementing them,” he said.
Cheong Wa Dae officials say Im has been sorting out the military agreement issue and that's why he is accompanying the President to the UAE. Although Moon and the crown prince will meet, “the two are unlikely to talk about the issue officially as it is moving toward a settlement without damaging the cooperative relations between the two countries,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said on condition of anonymity.