Ⓒ JoongAng Ilbo / JoongAng Ilbo Japanese version2022.02.11 10:33
Foreign Ministers of the three countries and North Korea’s chief representative will meet for cooperation between Korea, Japan and the United States over the North Korean issue. A chief representative meeting and a foreign ministers’ meeting will be held on the 10th (local time) in Honolulu, USA. In addition to responding to North Korea’s successive ballistic missile launches, the method of approaching North Korea for the progress of denuclearization will be discussed.
◆ Korea-Japan-US Foreign Ministers Talks on North Missile Response
An unusual series of three-country talks is that North Korea has virtually abandoned the moratorium (promise of grace measures) by launching a series of missiles, including intermediate-range ballistic missiles (IRBMs), and the Korean Peninsula. This is because of the recognition that the security threat has increased. Especially from the standpoint of the Moon Jae-in administration at the end of his term, the efforts of the Korean Peninsula peace process over the past five years have faced a crisis.
He hoped for a “top-down” approach within the Bun administration, but the presidential election is approaching a month later, and it is difficult to break the thread involved in the inter-Korean summit and create a dramatic dialogue mood.
President Moon Jae-in said in a joint written interview with domestic and foreign news agencies on the 10th, “If you have the intention of dialogue, the format is not important whether it is face-to-face or an image. “I can do it,” he said. “The timing of the upcoming elections and the outcome of the elections may make the situation unsuitable for holding an inter-Korean summit.” President Moon’s will remains the same, but he expressed a realistic perception that he had no choice but to take into account the domestic political situation.
◆ Japan and the United States took out “CVID” for successive missile launches in the north
Unlike South Korea, which has not abandoned expectations for the restart of the peace process, Japan and the United States have formalized a hard-line response to North Korea. Before and following the three UN Security Council private meetings convened to discuss the issue of North Korea’s ballistic missile launch, the United States led the release of a denunciation statement, even though Japan is not a member of the Security Council. Actively participated in. The statement released on the 4th included “condemning this tort in the most powerful terms” in connection with the launch of a North Korean ballistic missile. This is why at the joint press conference following the three foreign ministers’ meeting, there is a lot of interest in what expressions to use in relation to the denuclearization target.
The internationally accepted expression of North Korea’s denuclearization was CVID (complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization), but North Korea has been a “defeated country” since the term CVID first appeared during the Bush administration. It’s a humiliating thing that forces you to do so. ” In response, the government described it as a CD (complete denuclearization) instead of a CVID in the April 27, 2018 Panmunjom Declaration.
In honor of such intentions of South Korea, a CD was included in the Korea-US leaders’ joint statement in May last year instead of CVID. It was also described as a CD in the Japan-US Summit Joint Statement in April last year, and only Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga confirmed the CVID verbally at a press conference.
But recently, Japan and the United States have also unified the term CVID. CVIDs have reappeared in a joint statement released by Japan and the United States on the 20th of last month. Six countries, including Japan and the United States, issued a denunciation statement at the United Nations on the 11th of last month following North Korea launched a hypersonic missile, confirming that CVID is the target here as well.
On the other hand, even in the situation where the international community denounces North Korea by launching a ballistic missile in North Korea, South Korea continues to take a negative response, such as not participating in the criticism statement. Foreign ministry officials mentioned “the need to maintain momentum to resume dialogue,” especially on the background of South Korea’s failure to participate in a joint statement led by UN Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield last month.
The joint press conference following this three-country foreign ministers’ meeting should be the seat to announce the results of the talks, but which expression of CVID and CD will emphasize the unity between Korea, Japan and the United States? , The gap can be highlighted or symbolic.
◆ The United States is silent, Japan is once morest … The fate of the “end of war declaration” is
The declaration of the end of the war is also a concern that it is not easy for the three countries to agree. South Korea has a strong atmosphere of trying to utilize the Korea-Japan-US Foreign Ministers’ Meeting as an opportunity to advance the declaration of the end of the war. President Moon said on the 10th, “It may be an excessive desire to realize the end of the war within the term of our government,” but “at least I want to mature the environment where the end of the war can be declared and hand it over to the next administration.” I made clear my intention. He also emphasized that he “(the declaration of the end of the war) is a process and usefulness for promoting mutual trust with the end of hostilities and for denuclearization and institutionalization of peace.”
In particular, the fact that Korea and the United States agreed on the draft declaration of the end of the war is the fact that the debate on the declaration of the end of the war should be advanced to Secretary Chung Eui-yong, who is leaving for Honolulu. It can be seen that the instruction was issued.
In connection with this, it has been pointed out that the Bun administration’s “declaration of the end of the war first, then denuclearization” concept itself is different from the attitude of Japan and the United States that emphasizes CVID. President Moon emphasized the consensus, but among diplomatic officials, the United States did not formalize the gap between South Korea and the United States and only heard South Korea’s opinion, and in fact it is skeptical that it will promote the end of the war declaration at this stage. There were many analyzes that they had a good opinion.
Japan is cautious regarding declaring the end of the war. The difference in the positions of Korea and Japan regarding the declaration of the end of the war was revealed at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -related summit meeting in October last year. The chairman’s statement following the ASEAN Plus 3 (Korea-Japan-China) meeting usually includes the “Korean Peninsula draft”, through which North Korea-related content is dealt with. A draft of last year’s chairman’s statement was considered to include the content of “welcome South Korea’s proposal to declare the end of the war,” but it is said that Japan has opposed this and has left the final original. Japan has repeatedly expressed its opposition, saying that the declaration of the end of the war is hasty at the North Nuclear Chiefs’ Meeting of the three countries.
South Korea hopes to handle the end of the war declaration in this talk, but it is unknown how much the three foreign ministers will express their position in agreement with the end of the war declaration following the meeting.
