Seoul tasked with complex challenges ahead of visit of US diplomatic, defense policy chiefs

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks on foreign policy at the State Department, Wednesday, March 3, 2021 in Washington. AP-Yonhap

By Do Je-hae

Korea and the U.S. are coordinating a visit to Seoul by U.S. diplomatic and defense policy chiefs, according to Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday.

Although Seoul has not officially announced a date yet, latest reports say that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin are expected in Korea March 17 and 18, following their visit to Japan. If the trip to Seoul happens, it will be the first time for the top U.S. policymakers in diplomacy and defense to visit Korea since President Joe Biden's inauguration in January.

The consecutive visits to Seoul and Tokyo only two months following the launch of the new U.S. administration are seen as showing the level of importance that Washington places on the two allies in its diplomatic strategy.

In an Interim National Security Strategy Guidance released by President Biden this week, Korea is referred to as one of the U.S.' "greatest strategic asset[s]." "Our democratic alliances enable us to present a common front, produce a unified vision, and pool our strength to promote high standards, establish effective international rules, and hold countries like China to account," the White House said. "That is why we will reaffirm, invest in, and modernize the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and our alliances with Australia, Japan and the Republic of Korea ― which, along with our other global alliances and partnerships, are America's greatest strategic asset. We will work with allies to share responsibilities equitably, while encouraging them to invest in their own comparative advantages against shared current and future threats."

Since Blinken and Austin will be arriving in Korea following a tour of Japan, there is much interest in discussions about strengthening trilateral cooperation, which Washington has underlined as a key component of its Asia-Pacific strategy. But the rising tension between Korea and Japan regarding historical conflicts, including the wartime forced labor issue and compensation for sex slaves during Japanese colonial rule, is dealing a blow to the Moon administration's efforts to reach out to Japan. The foreign ministers of Korea and Japan have yet to speak since Chung Eui-yong took up that office here last month.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin speaks during a media briefing at the Pentagon, in Washington, Feb. 19, 2021. AP-Yonhap

Sung Kim, acting assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs, has underlined the importance of trilateral cooperation. "The Biden-Harris administration is committed to strengthening America's relationship, not only with our allies, but also the relationships among them," Kim said during a recent webinar organized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "None are more important than Japan and the Republic of Korea," he added, referring to South Korea by its official name.

Also, Seoul faces the complex challenge of narrowing differences on North Korea. President Moon wants to increase cooperation with North Korea and act as a bridge between the U.S. and North Korea. However, the Biden administration is still reviewing the policy of the previous administration on the North, and has not been forthcoming about engaging with Pyongyang yet.

"Moon needs to get to the substance of Biden's North Korea strategy. What he may find is that Biden may not even have one beyond his formulation in the Obama years ― denuclearization first, talks and sanctions relief later," said Harry J. Kazianis, senior director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest. "If that is the case, as Biden has very little bandwidth for anything else, Moon might be quite disappointed. But he should also warn Biden that North Korea is likely to try and start a crisis heading into the summer if Washington does not want to engage ― as Kim has done countless times before."

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