Foreign, unification ministers asked to fill in leadership holes By Lee Min-hyung

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un smiles after observing a test of what the North said is a “super-large multiple rocket launcher” on Saturday when it fired two short-range projectiles off its eastern coast. Yonhap

Despite North Korea’s repeated missile threats, the South’s relevant government authorities remain silent without taking any proactive steps over the reviving inter-Korean tension.

Ever since President Moon Jae-in took office in 2017, Seoul’s foreign and unification ministries have failed to raise their voice over the inter-Korean affairs amid apparent pressure from Cheong Wa Dae.

More specifically, starting last year, Cheong Wa Dae has been functioning as a de facto control tower handling all key overseas affairs. The South Korean authorities, however, were advised to take a step backward in terms of the North Korea-related affairs due to President Moon’s top-down inter-Korean policy.

Things did not look bad before the North resumed its missile tests this May, as North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had refrained from launching missiles or making military threats last year. But with the nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang reaching an impasse after their failure in Hanoi, the North started with both verbal and actual military provocations.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, left, and Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul listen to questions from lawmakers while attending a National Assembly meeting. Yonhap

The unification ministry said Monday it would continue to “keep a close watch” on the North’s recent military provocations, but failed to share specifics on how the ministry will deal with forthcoming missile threats from the North.

“The unification ministry will carefully watch the situation taking place in the North, and continue tightening military readiness by teaming up with other relevant authorities,” an official from the ministry said Monday.

The ministry said it would not react emotionally to the North’s provocations, and pledged to progress with a view to developing inter-Korean and Washington-Pyongyang relations.

But critics argue that the policy drive appears to be aimed at leaving a good impression on the North Korean regime even amid lingering military threats from the country. In particular, the ministry remains unchanged in its plan to provide humanitarian food aid to the North.

Pyongyang even declined ― via propaganda media outlets ― to accept aid from the South, but the ministry continues to conduct a policy that critics say is “one-sided love.”

The foreign ministry has also reiterated its favorable stance toward Japan and North Korea. Recently, Lee Do-hoon, special representative for inter-Korean peace and security affairs at the ministry, also ended up reiterating Cheong Wa Dae’s position in its latest meeting with reporters.

“The rare (inter-Korean dialogue) momentum was established because of the determination and willingness of the leaders of the two Koreas and the U.S.,” Lee told reporters last week after a meeting with his U.S. counterpart Stephen Biegun.

The foreign authority is also showing a gesture of overlooking the North’s repeated missile provocations, and instead, just like the unification ministry, focuses on underscoring the importance of inter-Korean peace.

Experts are expressing concern over increasing inter-Korean tension and the South’s move for President Moon’s peace initiative as the North is strengthening ties with its traditional allies, China and Russia, with Kim holding a series of summits with leaders of the two Asian military powerhouses.

“Now is the right time for both unification and foreign ministers to patch up possible holes and fill in the leadership voids in the ministries,” one Cheong Wa Dae official said.

Source:https:koreatimes.co.kr/