Moon taps ex- adviser as FM
▶ S. Korean pick could help revive denuclearization talks
South Korean President Moon Jae- in on Wednesday nominated a former national security adviser who was partly blamed for a failed summit between North Korea and the US in 2019 as the country’s next foreign minister.
The nomination of Chung Eui- yong, 74, to replace Kang Kyung- wha as foreign minister was seen as a bid to help revive stalled denuclearization talks with North Korea, just hours before Joe Biden takes office as the US president.
Chung had sought to mediate between the two countries as Moon’s top security adviser, making a surprise announcement on the White House lawn in March 2018 that US President Donald Trump would hold a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong- un.
But Chung was accused of misleading both sides about the potential for agreement after their second summit in 2019 in Vietnam failed to produce a deal.
The reshuffle came two days after Moon called for Biden to hold dialogue with North Korea to build on progress made by Kim and Trump at their first meeting in Singapore.
Chung’s nomination is to “breathe new life into the lineup of diplomats and regroup their forces in time for the inauguration of the Biden administration,” a presidential official told reporters.
Kim and Trump agreed in Singapore to foster new relations and work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
But their Vietnam summit collapsed when Trump rejected Kim’s offer to abandon North Korea’s main nuclear facility in return for lifting some sanctions, an idea that Moon had trumpeted in hopes for a restart of inter- Korean economic projects.
Former US national security adviser John Bolton, in his memoir released in June, said Moon had raised unrealistic expectations for his own “unification” agenda without reflecting on either side’s position.
Bolton also cited Chung as sharing Moon’s “schizophrenic” comment that Trump had rightly refused Kim’s proposal but on the other hand, Kim’s willingness to dismantle the Yongbyon facility was a “very meaningful first step” toward “irreversible” denuclearization.
Chung has said Bolton’s accounts were “inaccurate” and “distorted,” without elaborating.
A trade expert, Chung spent three years as Moon’s security adviser until he retired in July.
Chung’s nomination is to “breathe new life into the lineup of diplomats and regroup their forces in time for the inauguration of the Biden administration,” a presidential official said.