South Korea will try to use the momentum generated by inter-Korean talks on Pyongyang’s participation in the PyeongChang Olympics to bring together the reclusive regime and the US for dialogue on denuclearization, according to a 2018 policy briefing.

The foreign, defense, unification, culture and veterans ministries jointly briefed Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon on policies they will pursue this year during an annual briefing Friday. Their shared theme was “peace on the Korean Peninsula, which begins in PyeongChang.”

The Foreign Ministry will enhance its cooperation with neighboring major powers, while the Unification Ministry will push for plans to build “economic belts” across the two Koreas, and the Defense Ministry will maintain its defense posture to counter Pyongyang’s provocations, they said during the briefing. 

 
Hailing the North’s participation in the Olympics as creating “favorable” conditions for easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the Foreign Ministry said that the government will strive to have “North Korea and the US enter the process of dialogue.”

“In particular, we emphasized that we will focus our diplomatic capacity on inducing North Korea and the US into a dialogue process so that it could create a virtuous cycle of inter-Korean talks resulting in North Korea-US talks,” an official said during a pre-briefing held Thursday.

North Korea agreed to participate in the Winter Games to be held in the South from Feb. 9-25, which many see as a sign of a thaw on the peninsula after years of tensions over the North’s nuclear and missile programs.

Three rounds of inter-Korean talks have been held to work out the details of North Korea’s participation in the Winter Games. They agreed to form a joint women’s hockey team and march together under a “unification” flag at the opening ceremony.

But critics say that the North’s peace offensive is aimed at using the Olympics to weaken international sanctions against Pyongyang and “buy time” to perfect its nuclear and missile programs. There are also concerns that Pyongyang is seeking to drive a wedge between the South and US.

The Foreign Ministry said that it will try to secure support from the international community for the ongoing inter-Korean dialogue to pave the way for a peaceful resolution of the nuclear crisis.

The ministry said South Korea would strengthen diplomatic relations with the four regional powers -- the US, China, Russia and Japan. With Washington, Seoul will enhance its alliance in adjusting their policies on North Korea. With China and Russia, it will expand cooperation and bilateral exchanges. With Japan, it will focus on building a “future-oriented” relationship, separating a historical feud from current issues, the ministry said.

It also said it would seek to diversify its diplomatic portfolio to “maximize national interests.”

In line with the government’s drive to have inter-Korean dialogue go “beyond PyeongChang,” the Unification Ministry said it will push to hold inter-Korean talks on a regular basis to ultimately bring the communist state to the negotiating table for denuclearization talks. It also said it would resume inter-Korean exchanges in various sectors and provide humanitarian aid to North Koreans.

Another key plan is to hold cross-border projects, which do not violate the international sanctions against Pyongyang, to create an environment where its plan for the “Korean Peninsula New Economy Map” can materialize. The plan is aimed at creating cross-border economic zones.

The Defense Ministry said that it will mobilize forces to ensure safety at the Winter Games. It added that it will continue to maintain readiness to counter North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats, but at the same time work to diffuse military tensions between the two Koreas.  

To maintain its defense posture against the North, the ministry said that Seoul and Washington will consider expanding the deployment of the US “strategic assets” in and around South Korea. The ministry will also update a joint comprehensive counter-missile operation plan with the US, known as the 4D Operational Concept, to detect, disrupt, destroy and defend against North Korean missile threats.

The ministry also unveiled a plan for military reforms. It said it will reduce the number of troops to half a million by 2022 and the mandatory service period of rank-and-file soldiers will be shortened to 18 months in stages from the current 21 months.

“I hope we and the international community will exercise wisdom to come up with an opportunity to help PyeongChang’s success lead to peace on the Korean Peninsula,” Prime Minister Lee said.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)