By Yi Whan-woo
President Park Geun-hye’s foreign policy smacks of her own brand of isolationism ― focusing on China and the United States to the exclusion of all others ― namely North Korea and Japan.
It also raises questions over how it will affect her “unification will be a bonanza” assertion.
Experts say that it is about time that Park changed her approach or risk the consequences.
They say that the Park government should open up a channel of dialogue with Pyongyang and Tokyo, both key players that would exert influence in the event of unification.
“Seoul has not been earnest in pursuing dialogue with Pyongyang,” said Paik Hak-soon, the director of the Center for North Korean Studies at the Sejong Institute, a global policy think tank here.
He referred to Park’s speech at the U.N. General Assembly last week. Stressing the need for international support for inter-Korean integration, she called for an end to North Korea’s nuclear weapons program and improvements to its human rights record.
“To maintain a healthy diplomatic relationship, the countries should not ignore or isolate one other.
“The Park government, however, has assumed an attitude of superiority over the Kim Jong-un regime and sometimes acts as if he was a child.
“Under such circumstances, little progress will be made on inter-Korean ties and Park’s Dresden Initiative will not be successful,” Paik added.
In a speech during her March visit to Dresden, Germany, the President unveiled initiatives for humanity, co-prosperity and integration on the Korean Peninsula. These include South Korea investing in infrastructure-building along with the construction of multi-farming complexes in North Korea, collaborative projects with China and Russia, and joint natural resource development projects.
Another expert said the Dresden Initiative was based on a conservative notion that does not recognize North Korea as a “legitimate government.”
“Park came up with the initiative amid concerns rising over a sudden collapse of the totalitarian state,” said a researcher at Sejong Institute on condition of anonymity.
“Therefore, the projects under her initiative are aimed at helping the common people in the North.
“These lack measures to woo the political elite and the military ― the two most powerful social groups ― and the President’s unification efforts will stumble unless she deals with them, too.”
Paik said Kim’s private message, recently delivered to U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, already shows the negative impact of Park’s isolation policy toward Pyongyang.
The letter was delivered by North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Su-yong.
Ban’s office did not confirm what was written in the letter.
In her U.N. speech, Park stressed that sexual violence against women during times of war tarnishes efforts of humanitarianism regardless of time and region. Her remarks were seen as criticism of Tokyo, which is in a continuing historical dispute with Seoul over Japan’s sexual enslavement of Korean women during World War II.
“At the six-party nuclear talks, Japan has its unique role to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula,” the Sejong Institute researcher said. “As long as Park continues her emotional and hard-line policy toward Tokyo, Seoul will have difficulties in winning Tokyo’s support for inter-Korean unification.”
Jin Chang-soo, the director of Japan Center at the Sejong Institute, echoed a similar view.
“As democratic nations in Northeast Asia, both South Korea and Japan can work together for North Korea to open door to outside. “Such job takes tremendous effort which we can’t handle on ourselves in some ways.”