Moon Jae-in explains his North Korea vision

Posted on : 2012-10-05 15:41 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
DUP candidate’s proposed North Korea policy would emphasize bilateral dialogue

By Lee Tae-hee, staff reporter

Moon Jae-in has proposed policy to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through a peace treaty, if he is elected president in December’s election.

Calling North Korea’s nuclear capabilities unacceptable, the Democratic United Party presidential candidate said he would push this approach while establishing a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. In particular, Moon said that if elected, he would take steps early on to discuss the matter closely with Washington and Beijing.

The candidate’s approach on the North Korea issue carries on the policies of the Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun administrations, but with more realistic ideas that take into consideration the current situation with Pyongyang.

Speaking on Oct. 4 at a special debate at Seoul’s Sejong Center to mark the fifth anniversary of the October 5 Joint Declaration with North Korea, Moon proposed a comprehensive approach that would separate the North Korean nuclear issue from the issue of moving from an armistice agreement to a peace treaty.

He went on to present three principles for resolving the nuclear issue: zero tolerance, implementation of the terms of the Sept. 19 Joint Declaration, and comprehensive, fundamental solutions.

“I plan to take fundamental steps to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue with simultaneous bilateral dialogue between Pyongyang and Seoul, Pyongyang and Washington, and Pyongyang and Tokyo,” he said.

Moon’s conception for peace on the peninsula involves inducing North Korea to abandon its nuclear program through the normalization of its relationships with South Korea, the US, and Japan with a combination of inter-Korean dialogue and Pyongyang’s talks with Washington and Tokyo.

Its distinction from the Kim administration’s approach lies in the emphasis on North Korea’s dialogue with the US and Japan, without prioritizing inter-Korean relations. It differs from the Roh administration’s policy, observers said, in prioritizing a solution within a bilateral approach, such as talks between Pyongyang and Seoul or Washington, rather than a multilateral framework like the six-party talks where South Korea participates alongside numerous other countries.

An expert on foreign affairs and national security issues in Moon’s camp said Moon was considering a framework in which Seoul holds talks with Washington and Beijing on the groundwork for a peninsular peace regime in order to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue and normalize relations, with Tokyo and Moscow taking part to ensure its execution.

“His aim is to get a joint summit statement for Korean Peninsula peace and denuclearization by the leaders of the six countries by 2014, and to set up an organization for its implementation,” the official added.

 

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