Seoul seeks wider sanctions exemptions for North Korea
U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks to the press earlier this month at the State Department in Washington, D.C. AFP-Yonhap
By Kim Yoo-chul
By Kim Yoo-chul
South Korea has asked the United States to provide wider exemptions to sanctions on North Korea imposed by the U.N. Security Council Sanctions Committee (UNSC), as Seoul is aiming to expand joint economic and business projects with Pyongyang.
A senior Cheong Wa Dae official told The Korea Times that National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong asked Stephen Biegun, the U.S. special envoy for North Korea, for wider exemptions on sanctions on North Korea during Biegun's recent visit.
“At an afternoon tea meeting late Friday at Cheong Wa Dae, Chung told Biegun that wider exemptions for UNSC sanctions on North Korea are needed in a step to build trust between the two Koreas and Washington and Pyongyang ahead of the upcoming second U.S.-North Korea summit,” the official said, asking not to be identified.
South Korea needs exemptions from the UNSC to carry out joint economic projects with North Korea. Common worries are that despite the ongoing efforts by Seoul to move ahead with various types of ambitious inter-Korean business projects such as connecting rail networks, those projects Seoul envisions could violate sanctions and weaken the U.S.-South Korea alliance.
The Cheong Wa Dae official said Seoul's unification ministry would soon provide up to $8 million in humanitarian aid to North Korea. However, the offer, which was initially at the request of U.S. affiliates and the plan for which was approved by the South Korean government, is still pending.
“As President Moon Jae-in's earlier attempts for a sanctions-easing pitch apparently fell flat because of differing thinking between key stakeholders in the denuclearization talks, Seoul is applying needs-based and case-by-case scenarios in assessing North Korean sanctions-related issues,” the official said.
“Biegun told Chung he will discuss with U.S. officials exploring ways to help inter-Korean economic projects see further progress.”
In 2016, the UNSC imposed sanctions on North Korea in response to its fourth nuclear weapon test and a long-range missile launch. Beyond railway and road reconnection projects, Seoul is hoping for early normalization of its symbolic and massive business projects such as the Mount Geumgang tourism project and the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.
But in the absence of waivers and exemptions from the UNSC, which the United States as a member would have to back up, such moves would violate sanctions.
U.N. Resolution 2375, issued in September 2017, prohibits “forming joint ventures or cooperative entities, new and existing, with North Korea entities or individuals.”
U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he meets North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the start of their historic U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore. AP-Yonhap
The Cheong Wa Dae official did not elaborate on whether Chung asked the visiting U.S. envoy for more concessions to restart the tourism project or for resumption of the industrial complex.
The Chung-Biegun meeting came a few hours after U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. had received a commitment from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in the denuclearization process.
“There remains a long ways to go, but we are hard at it even today,” Pompeo told NPR.
“The North Koreans have not suffered an economic sanctions regime like the one that the Trump administration has imposed and continues to impose.
“We're going to loosen travel restrictions. Also, we are counting on a second summit.”