By Choi Sung-jin
"Wow, this is unbelievable. All we did was elect a ‘human being' (as the president)."
So exclaimed a blogger, marveling at the changes President Moon Jae-in has brought about on the nation since he took office just two weeks ago. Moon's series of swift and bold reform measures, coming in parallel with his plain, folksy bearings, have won the hearts of many even among the 59 percent who did not vote for him. A survey shows 87 percent of Koreans think Moon will do a good job as the chief executive.
This is a good start, even acknowledging that the public and media tend to watch new leaders with friendly eyes.
Given where Moon's predecessor stood months ago ― Park Geun-hye's approval rating once plunged to 5 percent ― this should hardly be surprising, though. Soon the post-election euphoria ― honeymoon between the new president and the rest of the nation ― will be over and real tests begin.
It's been quite a while that bread-and-butter economics have dominated elections in industrial countries. The May 9 snap election here was a little different because of North Korea's crazy leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, whom a Washington Post columnist in his recent column, described as even crazier than Kim.
How to keep the Korean Peninsula from falling to another catastrophic military conflict by stopping the game of chicken between the two impulsive and unpredictable leaders became the most urgent task for the new South Korean leader.
Pyongyang forced Seoul to reaffirm such a need by launching two ground-to-ground mid- to long-range missiles the past two Sundays. By doing so, the isolationist regime made clear its intention to push ahead with its nuclear and missile programs no matter what. It seemed as if the North were saying no amount of sticks and carrots - pressure from the international community led by the United Nations and Washington's latest proposal for dialogue ― could change the communist country's aspiration to be a nuclear power.
Moon's initial responses were swift and reassuring, issuing strong warnings against the North and redoubling military preparedness. Especially so because Pyongyang, which must have known the new government in Seoul is far more reconciliatory toward it than the previous two administrations, tested Moon even before he picked his key diplomatic aides. On Monday, however, Chung Eui-yong, Moon's top security adviser as the new chairman of the National Security Office, pointed to the need to resume exchanges with North Korea, practicing what his boss had preached since the campaign days ― the two-track approach of pressure and dialogue.
Seoul will have to maintain the two seemingly contradictory stances - resolute but flexible ― to solve the North Korean nuclear issue. Conservatives will ask whether and how Seoul can pursue dialogue with such a recalcitrant and wayward counterpart, which will seek to complete its nuclear programs at all costs. As the experiences of the past two decades show, however, talks have suspended ― if not stopped ― the North's relentless march toward nuclear armament. And only one country can change Pyongyang's attitude ― the U.S. with its promise of nonaggression or no regime change, diplomatic recognition and lifting of the economic embargo.
That some U.S. officials have recently expressed some willingness to turn toward a diplomatic approach is a good sign in this regard. President Moon Jae-in's foreign policy team should work as a bridge between Washington and Pyongyang, narrowing the gap between their expectations and realities. Toward that end, South Korean officials need to reopen contacts with their Northern counterparts within the extent of not disrupting the international community's common front toward the North. Foremost is to restore Seoul's diplomatic leverage in dealing with the reclusive regime, which has fallen to nil under the two conservative governments. As a U.S. expert put it, this is time for Seoul to go back to the driver's seat in Korean affairs.
President Moon's appointment of Kang Kyung-wha, a woman diplomat, as his ― and the nation's - first female foreign minister was refreshing enough in that it broke two ceilings ― gender and clique. I share some concerns of diplomatic watchers who point out that both Kang and Chung, the new NSO head, are relatively new to inter-Korean and other bilateral diplomatic issues with four major powers surrounding this peninsula.
This explains why Moon needs to pick experienced career diplomats, including veteran negotiators and even former spies, and form a "dream team." The nation now deserves nothing less than for him to chart through the increasingly harsh diplomatic terrain of Northeast Asia. As far as North Korea is concerned, the liberal president also would do well to activate a national conference, transcending political and ideological differences, and work out an inter-Korean policy consensus, or something close to it, which will not change even when political power changes hands.
We all remember how the North Korea policy turned about-face when George W. Bush entered the White House, and Lee Myung-bak occupied the Blue House. As far as Seoul is concerned, fundamental principles of North Korea policy ― such as negotiated settlement of the crisis and peaceful reunification ― should not change along with the change of political power.
Michael Breen, a Korea expert and a Korea Times columnist, was on the lips of some South Koreans recently, after he coined the term "Moonshine policy," a hybrid of "Moon" (Jae-in) and "sunshine policy." He thus called for President Moon's version of the engagement policy toward the North, which former liberal Presidents Kim Dae-jung initiated and Roh Moo-hyun inherited.
Despite Mr. Breen's good intention, the government and the media had better not use the phrase not least because Seoul should conduct its inter-Korean policy in an open and square manner, not in the way of a bootlegger hiding his action. It has every right to do so.
Choi Sung-jin is a contributing op-ed writer for The Korea Times. Contact him at choisj1955@naver.com.
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So exclaimed a blogger, marveling at the changes President Moon Jae-in has brought about on the nation since he took office just two weeks ago. Moon's series of swift and bold reform measures, coming in parallel with his plain, folksy bearings, have won the hearts of many even among the 59 percent who did not vote for him. A survey shows 87 percent of Koreans think Moon will do a good job as the chief executive.
This is a good start, even acknowledging that the public and media tend to watch new leaders with friendly eyes.
Given where Moon's predecessor stood months ago ― Park Geun-hye's approval rating once plunged to 5 percent ― this should hardly be surprising, though. Soon the post-election euphoria ― honeymoon between the new president and the rest of the nation ― will be over and real tests begin.
It's been quite a while that bread-and-butter economics have dominated elections in industrial countries. The May 9 snap election here was a little different because of North Korea's crazy leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump, whom a Washington Post columnist in his recent column, described as even crazier than Kim.
How to keep the Korean Peninsula from falling to another catastrophic military conflict by stopping the game of chicken between the two impulsive and unpredictable leaders became the most urgent task for the new South Korean leader.
Pyongyang forced Seoul to reaffirm such a need by launching two ground-to-ground mid- to long-range missiles the past two Sundays. By doing so, the isolationist regime made clear its intention to push ahead with its nuclear and missile programs no matter what. It seemed as if the North were saying no amount of sticks and carrots - pressure from the international community led by the United Nations and Washington's latest proposal for dialogue ― could change the communist country's aspiration to be a nuclear power.
.jpg/dims/resize/84/optimize)
Moon's initial responses were swift and reassuring, issuing strong warnings against the North and redoubling military preparedness. Especially so because Pyongyang, which must have known the new government in Seoul is far more reconciliatory toward it than the previous two administrations, tested Moon even before he picked his key diplomatic aides. On Monday, however, Chung Eui-yong, Moon's top security adviser as the new chairman of the National Security Office, pointed to the need to resume exchanges with North Korea, practicing what his boss had preached since the campaign days ― the two-track approach of pressure and dialogue.
Seoul will have to maintain the two seemingly contradictory stances - resolute but flexible ― to solve the North Korean nuclear issue. Conservatives will ask whether and how Seoul can pursue dialogue with such a recalcitrant and wayward counterpart, which will seek to complete its nuclear programs at all costs. As the experiences of the past two decades show, however, talks have suspended ― if not stopped ― the North's relentless march toward nuclear armament. And only one country can change Pyongyang's attitude ― the U.S. with its promise of nonaggression or no regime change, diplomatic recognition and lifting of the economic embargo.
That some U.S. officials have recently expressed some willingness to turn toward a diplomatic approach is a good sign in this regard. President Moon Jae-in's foreign policy team should work as a bridge between Washington and Pyongyang, narrowing the gap between their expectations and realities. Toward that end, South Korean officials need to reopen contacts with their Northern counterparts within the extent of not disrupting the international community's common front toward the North. Foremost is to restore Seoul's diplomatic leverage in dealing with the reclusive regime, which has fallen to nil under the two conservative governments. As a U.S. expert put it, this is time for Seoul to go back to the driver's seat in Korean affairs.
President Moon's appointment of Kang Kyung-wha, a woman diplomat, as his ― and the nation's - first female foreign minister was refreshing enough in that it broke two ceilings ― gender and clique. I share some concerns of diplomatic watchers who point out that both Kang and Chung, the new NSO head, are relatively new to inter-Korean and other bilateral diplomatic issues with four major powers surrounding this peninsula.
This explains why Moon needs to pick experienced career diplomats, including veteran negotiators and even former spies, and form a "dream team." The nation now deserves nothing less than for him to chart through the increasingly harsh diplomatic terrain of Northeast Asia. As far as North Korea is concerned, the liberal president also would do well to activate a national conference, transcending political and ideological differences, and work out an inter-Korean policy consensus, or something close to it, which will not change even when political power changes hands.
We all remember how the North Korea policy turned about-face when George W. Bush entered the White House, and Lee Myung-bak occupied the Blue House. As far as Seoul is concerned, fundamental principles of North Korea policy ― such as negotiated settlement of the crisis and peaceful reunification ― should not change along with the change of political power.
Michael Breen, a Korea expert and a Korea Times columnist, was on the lips of some South Koreans recently, after he coined the term "Moonshine policy," a hybrid of "Moon" (Jae-in) and "sunshine policy." He thus called for President Moon's version of the engagement policy toward the North, which former liberal Presidents Kim Dae-jung initiated and Roh Moo-hyun inherited.
Despite Mr. Breen's good intention, the government and the media had better not use the phrase not least because Seoul should conduct its inter-Korean policy in an open and square manner, not in the way of a bootlegger hiding his action. It has every right to do so.
Choi Sung-jin is a contributing op-ed writer for The Korea Times. Contact him at choisj1955@naver.com.
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