Go to Contents Go to Navigation

(EDITORIAL from Korea Times on May 22)

All News 09:21 May 22, 2018

Acting as mediator
Moon should try to keep momentum for detente

President Moon Jae-in will have his fourth summit with U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday. For Moon, this summit is more important than the previous ones as he is required to act as a bridge for the success of the upcoming summit between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Moon should make strenuous efforts to narrow differences between Pyongyang and Washington over how to denuclearize the North. He also needs to play a more active role as a mediator to deal with the North's threat to cancel the summit with Trump to be held in Singapore on June 12.

The threat came last week when Pyongyang abruptly suspended high-level talks with Seoul, citing joint air force drills between South Korea and the U.S. The Kim regime criticized Trump's national security adviser, John Bolton, for trying to apply the "Libyan model" of denuclearization to the North.

The criticism reflects the fact that the two adversaries have yet to agree on the method of denuclearization. It also explains why the North has suddenly made an about-face from its diplomatic offensive which started with the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and culminated in the April 27 Inter-Korean Summit.

In this situation, President Moon ought to work more closely with Trump to make the summit a success. First the two leaders should reaffirm the shared goal of denuclearizing the North. They also must make clear the definition of "complete denuclearization."

During the Moon-Kim summit last month, the two Koreas agreed to a complete denuclearization of the peninsula. However, Kim seemed to have a different view of the agreement. He has expressed his intention to realize a step-by-step and reciprocal denuclearization so that the North can get rewards for every step it takes.

It might be natural for the North to oppose the Libyan model, considering that Moammar Gadhafi was dethroned and killed by rebels after giving up his nuclear program. Of course there was no direct link between the demise of the Libyan leader and denuclearization. But Pyongyang is anathematic to such a model because Kim wants security guarantees for his regime in return for abandoning its nuclear program.

One positive gesture from the U.S. is that Trump is trying to placate Kim. Trump said Kim's security would be guaranteed in any deal and his country would not suffer the fate of Gaddafi's Libya. His remarks indicate that he is determined to produce successful results from the summit with Kim. In other words, Trump could make some compromise with Kim during the meeting next month.

But, this should not mean a retreat from the "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization (CVID)." Moon and Trump should send a clear message to Kim that their goal is the complete denuclearization of the North. Equally important is to offer attractive carrots to the North so that the Kim regime can take sincere steps toward denuclearization, peace and co-prosperity.

(END)

Issue Keywords
Most Liked
Most Saved
Most Viewed More
HOME TOP
Send Feedback
How can we improve?
Thanks for your feedback!