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| President Moon Jae-in, left, shakes hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin during their summit in Moscow in 2018. Korea Times file |
By Do Je-hae
President Moon Jae-in will focus on his New Northern Policy of engaging more actively with countries situated north of the Korean Peninsula this year, including Russia, Mongolia and other countries in central Asia.
The South Korean leader highlighted the New Northern Policy during his Jan. 14 New Year address, along with other diplomatic priorities such as inter-Korea relations, U.S., Japan and China as well as the New Southern Policy.
"Last year, the government strengthened cooperation with ASEAN to build a community of mutual prosperity through the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Commemorative Summit and the Mekong-Republic of Korea Summit. The government will also further solidify the South Korea-U.S. alliance this year while accelerating its New Southern and New Northern policies to diversify foreign affairs," Moon said.
Cheong Wa Dae has been putting much emphasis on the New Northern Policy since the beginning of the year. "The government has designated this year as the year of cooperation with northern countries. We will carry on the momentum gained from the New Southern Policy," a presidential aide said Feb. 17.
On Feb. 12, the Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation also held a press conference to introduce various economic, tourism and cultural projects.
The government is placing particular importance on Russia as the two countries mark a landmark anniversary this year in diplomatic relations established in 1990 during the Roh Tae-woo administration. "Russia is a key partner in the New Northern Policy. As this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of our diplomatic ties, I am looking forward to setting a new milestone in New Northern diplomacy," Moon said during the New Year address.
The President recently sent Kim Hyon-chong, second deputy chief of Cheong Wa Dae's National Security Office (NSO), to Russia to check on the progress of arrangements for the Korea-Russia summit, which is likely to take place in the first half of the year.
Despite the growing focus on the New Northern Policy, the concept still remains quite foreign for many Koreans as they are not very familiar with the countries involved. There is still not much interest among the Korean public about these countries' relevance to Korea in terms of economics, culture and history.
The Korea Times conducted an interview with a Russian scholar on Korea studies to better aid the readers' understanding on why the New Northern Policy matters to Korea's future. The below are edited questions and answers from a written interview with Vladimir Tikhonov, professor at the Department of Culture Studies and Oriental Languages, University of Oslo.
Q: Why is it important for Korea to engage more with countries situated north of the Korean Peninsula, such as Russia, central Asian countries and other areas included in the New Northern Policy?
A: South Korea lives off trade, and there are ample trade opportunities in Russia and other Soviet successor states. South Korean-Russian bilateral trade was $4.2 billion back in 2003, but this year, the figure may reach $30 billion. For now, South Korea is Russia's seventh-largest trading partner. South Korea takes third place (after China and Turkey) among Russia's trading partners in Asia, accounting for 3.6 percent of its total foreign trade, and the figure is rising.
At the same time, trade with Russia accounts for 2.1 percent of South Korea's total trade ― and again, there is a tendency for this figure to grow. The two countries' economies are mutually complementary, and, additionally, they do not represent political risks or burdens to each other. Unlike China or the U.S., Russia neither possesses serious geopolitical influence on the Korean Peninsula nor strives to possess it ― its geopolitical interest lies elsewhere. And unlike Japan, it does not directly compete against South Korea in export markets.
Russia is also not afraid that South Korea will try to establish itself in its vulnerable Siberian and Far Eastern regions (there is such fear when it comes to China or Japan). So, the Russo-South Korean partnership is quite natural.
Q: How do you see the feasibility of Moon's vision for economic cooperation among the two Koreas and Russia for a joint railway?
A: In this perspective, the project may offer a huge additional boost to the South Korean economy, giving it an opportunity to seriously cut on transportation costs in trade with much of Eurasia. But the problem is that the project is largely blocked by the U.N. (in practice the U.S.) economic sanctions. To be precise, the Hasan-Rajin logistics project ― a part of the larger railway project ― is one of the very few economic initiatives excluded from the U.N. Security Council sanctions against North Korea. However, South Korean businesses seem to be reluctant to move in, being afraid of the possible unilateral U.S. sanctions in case of any cooperation with North Korea.
Q: Do you have any suggestions for the Moon administration to get meaningful fruit from the New Northern Policy?
A: The U.N. sanctions are the major obstacle on the way toward Russian-South-North Korean trilateral cooperation. President Moon should use all the leverage South Korea has vis-a-vis the U.S. in order to obtain sanctions relief and guarantees for South Korean businesses against legal harassment by U.S. agencies in the case of their participation in such cooperation. We need much bolder diplomacy at this stage.
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