Liberation Day’s ‘message to North Korea’ shrunk in inter-Korean relations between cold and hot water

There was no more blueprint for inter-Korean relations that had returned to their origins. Unlike the past, which presented plans to advance inter-Korean relations, such as “I will not pursue artificial reunification” and “I will achieve a single economic community,” the message to North Korea contained in the Liberation Day congratulatory speech in the last Liberation Day speech of President Moon Jae-in was filled with “safety-oriented” content. Calling North Korea “a member of the East Asian community of life,” it is enough to re-emphasize the ‘epidemic cooperation’ mentioned several times in the context of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19). It is interpreted to mean that North Korea will focus on managing the situation for the time being as inter-Korean relations go back and forth between cold and hot water, with North Korea sternly criticizing the conduct of the ROK-U.S. joint military exercise within two weeks of restoring the inter-Korean communication line.

In his congratulatory speech on the 76th anniversary of Liberation Day on the 15th, President Moon said, “We can create a ‘Korean Peninsula model’ that contributes to the prosperity of Northeast Asia,” citing Germany, which pursues coexistence and co-prosperity, as an example. “The Northeast Asian Quarantine and Health Cooperation Group is now discussing cooperation projects such as information sharing and joint stockpiling of medical and quarantine supplies,” he said, urging North Korea to participate. The idea of ​​incorporating North Korea into a regional cooperation system was presented as a model for the Korean Peninsula, with a common interest in responding to infectious diseases as a link.

This is meaningful in that it expanded inter-Korean relations to a multilateral system that went beyond the bilateral framework, but it is a step backward from last year’s Liberation Day celebrations. As the two Koreas entered a cooling period after the bombing of the joint liaison office in June last year, President Moon emphasized that “inter-Korean cooperation is the best security policy,” referring to COVID-19 and torrential rains in North Korea. There were several concrete proposals, such as emphasizing the necessity of reunion of separated families. However, this year, there were no new methods for North Korea, such as the declaration of the end of the war, which is a regular theme of the celebration, as well as the connection of railroads and the reunion of mountains.

The quantity was also drastically reduced. In the congratulatory speech, only 661 of the 6,020 characters were devoted to the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Last year, it was 900 characters. With the restart of the communication line on the 27th of last month, expectations were raised on the possibility of progress in the ‘Peace Process on the Korean Peninsula’, but the government’s dilemma was revealed as discourses from the Labor Party’s Vice Director Kim Yeo-jeong and the Unified Front Department Director Kim Young-cheol, who had provocations in mind over the ROK-U.S. drills, came out one after another. This is the part you see. For this reason, it seems that they have decided that it is better not to provoke North Korea with a restrained message instead of a bold proposal.

In the same vein, the proposal to participate in the quarantine and health cooperative is also a safe option for the government. This is because it is the best agenda for North Korea, which is suffering from economic difficulties such as sanctions and lack of vaccines, to pay attention to. Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha Womans University, said, “The situation is difficult to estimate North Korea’s response due to the uncertain inter-Korean relations.

Kim Min-soon reporter soon@hankookilbo.com