President Yoon's NK policy

North Korea's recent moves have been alarming. We confirmed through the announcement by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) that North Korea had saliently defined the Republic of Korea as a "thoroughly hostile state" in their "Republic Constitution."

In this case, has North Korea formalized hostile bilateral relations because of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration? During the 1970s, when North Korea was mentioning unification, it was economically and militarily superior to the South. However, since the 1980s, the situation between North and South Korea has reversed, and North Korea’s active stance on unification began to shift. Kim Jong-un's definition of inter-Korean relations as a "bilateral relationship" mirrors the judgment that North Korea has already lost the competition and that unification led by Pyongyang, as in the past, is no longer possible.

North Korea seems to be using the recent Pyongyang drone incident as an opportunity to define South Korea as a hostile state while trying to strengthen the military regime centered around Kim Jong-un and solidify internal cohesion. The complete shutdown of railways and roads along the inter-Korean border is an effort to erase the consciousness of Korean ethnicity and awareness of unification. Moreover, with the North's assertion that South Korea is a hostile foreign state, Pyongyang argues that any aggressive retaliation against Seoul in the event of an invasion is a legitimate act against an enemy, not against the Korean ethnicity. Just like President Yoon, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un also defines the opponent as an enemy and emphasizes peace through exercising power.

In this regard, it raises questions about whether President Yoon's advocacy of the unification doctrine for the world aligns with the interests of South Korea. South Korea's priorities should be security, peace and a warless Korean Peninsula. National security has always been a priority in South Korea's North Korea policy, regardless of conservative or progressive factions. However, if the Yoon administration keeps on calling for unification, this could provoke hostility and vigilance from North Korea. In the short term, tension at the border is bound to rise, and overall, the tension on the Korean Peninsula will inevitably escalate, increasing the likelihood of war.

Why did North Korea bring up the responsibility of the U.S. regarding the Pyongyang drone incident? At the very moment, to hold the United States accountable for its negligence in managing not only the United Nations Command at the border but also the U.S. Forces Korea stationed in the South implies that the U.S. should restrain the Yoon administration, which crossed the line. The Yoon administration speaks too ideologically and harshly towards North Korea. With the drone reports from Pyongyang, both sides started exchanging verbal bombs as North Korea speaks of a "terrible catastrophe," while South Korea claims any action will be "the end of the North Korean regime."

The Yoon government is a regime that emphasizes the strengthening of South Korea-U.S. relations and South Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation. Yoon's act of singing the song "American Pie" next to President Joe Biden during the South Korea-U.S. summit was so pitiful that it almost brought tears to my eyes. However, as tensions between North and South Korea escalated due to the Pyongyang drone incident, the U.S. deputy secretary of state expressed serious concerns. The United States already faces more than enough challenges due to the Ukraine-Russia war. This is also the same U.S. that will never be in favor of a war on the Korean Peninsula; thus, why does the Yoon administration, which follows the United States, exchange verbal attacks with North Korea's Kim Yo-jong and openly call for unification, thereby provoking North Korea?

Henceforth, we must consider a relationship that aims for future unification based on the recognition of provisional mutual statehood, as stipulated in the December 1991 Basic Agreement on Inter-Korean Relations, for a stable and consistent North-South relationship. If we desire unification, inter-Korean exchanges, persuasion and understanding of the neighboring country must be continuous, just like in the case of East and West Germany. This is because each country has different thoughts and interests regarding unification. We must also recognize that the threats and hostility, along with the strong inclination towards unification, only lead to greater conflicts and animosity between each other. This is why we must be wary of the Yoon administration and the Kim regime, which attempt to stabilize and justify their regimes through threats to each other's existence.

The writer is a professor and lawyer at Soongsil University in Seoul. This article does not represent the editorial stance of The Korea Times.