Vice FM says Moon gov’t seeks ‘irreversible’ framework for denuclearization

SEOUL– The government of President Moon Jae-in hopes to build an “irreversible framework” for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and hand the formula over to its successor, First Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun said Monday.

During a diplomatic forum, Choi said that the formula should include such principles as the pursuit of nuclear talks with the North in parallel with trust building and security assurances, while cautioning against “pessimism” over efforts to reengage with Pyongyang.

Choi’s remarks came amid growing skepticism over whether the Moon administration, whose term is set to end in May next year, can advance its peace agenda given that Pyongyang has recently rejected Washington’s offer for dialogue.

“I think what matters is to create an irreversible framework and structure to attain the goal of denuclearization based on the outcomes we have thus far made, and hand it over to the succeeding government,” Choi said in his keynote speech for the forum hosted by the Institute for National Security Strategy affiliated with the National Intelligence Service.
“It is crucial that we make a process that no one can walk out from,” he added.

The framework should include a set of principles, including focusing on the denuclearization through a reduction of conventional military tensions, and ensuring that progress in inter-Korean ties helps relations between the U.S. and the North and vice versa, Choi said.

The vice foreign minister sought to counter growing “pessimism” about Seoul’s policy on Pyongyang, saying that lasting peace on the peninsula is only possible through continued engagement under a “realistic, viable” policy initiative.

“There isn’t much time left. But we still have time,” Choi said. “We will slog our way forward toward the goal of denuclearization.”

Touching on the evolving relationship between South Korea and the U.S., Choi underscored the need to “refine” the bilateral alliance to broaden its scope beyond the peninsula.

“We need to further refine the alliance, which has been the major foundation of South Korea’s diplomacy,” he said.

“So far the alliance had centered on the unitary Korean Peninsula issue. But it has been expanding across the board, with its space widening to Southeast Asia and Central America and its agenda covering traditional security, human security and economic security,” he said.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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