Kang, Tillerson discuss NK sanctions
Top diplomats of South Korea and the United States discussed issues related to North Korea by phone, Thursday, as Washington is seeking the toughest-ever sanctions against Pyongyang.
The conversation between Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-hwa and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson took place on the same day the U.S. Senate overwhelmingly approved a package of bills penalizing Russia, Iran and North Korea.
While much of the attention was on Russia, the bills also seek to choke off North Korea amid Seoul’s efforts to resume dialogue with Pyongyang on one hand and joining the U.N. sanctions against the North on the other.
The bills aim at blocking North Korea’s imports of crude oil and oil products, banning employment of North Korean workers forced to earn cash abroad, prohibiting the sailing of ships from North Korea and the countries that are uncooperative with the U.N. sanctions and curbing trade of North Korean goods online.
The bills, which await U.S. President Donald Trump’s signature to take effect, came after the U.S. Department of State banned Americans from traveling to North Korea on July 21.
The measure followed the death of Otto Warmbier, a detained American college student who died after being released from the Kim Jong-un regime in a coma in June, also amid concerns that the North may be capitalizing on tourism to develop weapons of mass destruction.
Park Young-ho, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said Friday that Rex Tillerson may have reaffirmed to Kang the U.S. policy of “maximum pressure and engagement” with North Korea.
“The North Korea sanctions approved by the Senate mainly require support from China,” Park said. “In that regard, the two foreign ministers may have discussed how the two allies can coordinate and tune-up their North Korea policies instead of having South Korea take practical measures in line with the Senate’s bills.”
Secondary boycott
He said the Moon government should pursue balanced diplomacy between Washington and Beijing in a more prudent manner, claiming that “The bills may eventually lead to a secondary boycott of Chinese entities and individuals doing business with North Korea.”
It was the first dialogue between Kang and Tillerson since July 4 when North Korea purportedly succeeded in the test-launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Friday that Kang and Tillerson agreed on bilateral cooperation against North Korea’s missile program.
“The two sides assessed security on the Korean Peninsula in the aftermath of Pyongyang’s July 4 missile test,” the ministry said in a press release. “They shared thoughts on the U.N. Security Council’s push to adopt a new set of sanctions and how they could help curb Pyongyang’s military provocations for denuclearization.”
U.S. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said Kang and Tillerson pledged to work closely to strengthen the alliance, adding “They reaffirmed our joint commitment to a stable, peaceful and denuclearized Korean Peninsula.”