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| President Moon Jae-in, left, speaks on the phone with U.S. President Joe Biden, Thursday, for the first time since the new U.S. leader took office last month. Yonhap |
By Do Je-hae
The first phone call early Thursday (KST) between the leaders of South Korea and the U.S. highlighted the need for the two countries to narrow the differences in their respective policies toward dealing with North Korea, according to experts.
"U.S. President Joe Biden said that he evaluated the efforts of South Korea, the main party in the resolution of the Korean Peninsula issue, and that it is important for the U.S. and South Korea to have the same position and work closely for common goals," presidential spokesman Kang Min-seok said in a briefing after the phone conversation between President Moon Jae-in and Biden.
Some analysts said that the remarks could be seen as a warning from Washington not to speed up things with North Korea while the U.S. is undertaking a meticulous review of the North Korea policy of the previous administration. Moon has reiterated that the Singapore agreement between Biden's predecessor Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un should be the starting point of the U.S.'s North Korea policy during the Biden administration. But such a view has raised questions in the policy community here and in the U.S.
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| President Moon Jae-in speaks on the phone with U.S. President Joe Biden, Thursday, at Cheong Wa Dae. Suh Hoon, left, head of the presidential national security office, is taking notes. Courtesy of Cheong Wa Dae. |
"Cheong Wa Dae was trying to reflect the position of South Korea, which wants an early resumption of dialogue with North Korea, as well as that of the U.S., which wants a comprehensive discussion with not just South Korea, but also Japan and China on the issue of North Korea's nuclear programs," Shin Beom-chul, director at the Center of Diplomacy and National Security at the Research Institute for Economy and Society in Seoul, told The Korea Times. "In this regard, Cheong Wa Dae stressed the need for the same position."
The two leaders also discussed global issues such as climate change, in addition to some pressing issues such as China and Myanmar. "It seems that President Biden still regards South Korea as an important partner. He seems to have big expectations on South Korea's role in North Korea's denuclearization, as well as regional and global cooperation," Shin added.
Cheong Wa Dae also mentioned that the two leaders were on the same page on the need to get together in person, once the COVID-19 situation is under better control.
Some experts say Seoul will need to make active efforts to iron out differences with the U.S. over North Korea policy, while working strenuously to resolve some longstanding bilateral issues, such as the Special Measures Agreement (SMA), which determines South Korea's cost-sharing in maintaining American troops on the Korean peninsula, and the transfer of wartime operational control (OPCON).
"I think that Moon should focus on three issues. The first one would be how to deal with North Korea in a way that is realistic and that means that inter-Korean reconciliation, economic exchanges between the two Koreas, and North Korea's denuclearization are given the same weight. Biden has indicated that he wants to work with allies, and Moon should take advantage of it," Ramon Pacheco Pardo, KF-VUB Korea Chair, Institute for European Studies, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, told The Korea Times.
"The second issue Moon should focus on would be wartime OPCON transfer. We are about to reach the point where South Korea is ready to have OPCON transferred from a logistical and military point of view. So we are entering the phase in which the decision to transfer will be political. Moon should try to get a sense as to whether Biden will be ready to take this step during his first term in office or not," he said.
"Finally, I think that Moon should focus on multilateral cooperation. South Korea has been invited to the next G10 meeting, would be part of any 'summit of democracies,' and clearly has seen its global profile enhanced thanks to its response to the COVID-19 pandemic. With Biden making it clear that he wants to return to multilateralism and work with allies, South Korea is in a good position to be an important voice in issues such as how to deal with China, how to reform the WTO, or how to enhance cooperation on climate change, among many others. Moon should discuss this with Biden," Pardo added.
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