South Korea’s new foreign minister said Thursday that the current priority for the North Korea policy should be more about strengthening deterrence than seeking dialogue, considering its increasingly belligerent behavior in recent weeks.
Cho Tae-yul made the remarks on the first day at work, dismissing the view of some experts that South Korea and the United States should explore a peaceful way to settle the issue as the international pressure to denuclearize North Korea has been proven to have failed.
“I don’t think it’s that time yet,” Cho told reporters during a brief presser. “North Korea continues to advance its nuclear and missile capabilities, and we’re not in the mood for dialogue,” he said, noting that North Korea has been refusing to talk.
“We put our focus on bolstering the deterrence, while we continue efforts to bring about a change in (North Korea’s approach),” Cho said.
Cho, a former ambassador to the United Nations, was named the top diplomat last month, as South Korea faces many diplomat
ic challenges, from dealing with North Korea’s evolving nuclear and missile threats, and its alleged growing military cooperation with Russia, to reestablishing relations with China amid the Sino-U.S. rivalry.
In an analysis published Monday, Frank Aum, a senior expert at the United States Institute of Peace, called for Washington to explore a new way of “modus vivendi,” or a peaceful co-existence, with North Korea to reduce the risk of conflict, saying that might be more realistic given the North’s nuclear and missile development.
Cho said South Korea will continue to sternly deal with any action by North Korea, including the growing military cooperation with Russia, that violates the international sanctions.
On the long-suspended trilateral summit among South Korea, China and Japan, Cho reaffirmed the commitment to making efforts to resume the summit at the earliest date possible.
Noting the stronger three-way cooperation with the U.S. and Japan, as well as the significant improvement in bilateral relat
ions with Japan, Cho vowed to follow the same path to produce results.
“We should have areas that need to be reinforced, and I will turn my attention to that and work hard to steadily make new tangible achievements,” Cho said.
Source: Yonhap News Agency