US sabotage

Moon’s dialogue initiative deserves Washington backing

President Moon Jae-in is trying to open dialogue with North Korea. The South does not need any act of sabotage from its ally, the United States. If the two allies want to resolve the North’s missile and nuclear challenge peacefully, Washington should give Moon’s effort a hearty push forward.

After Seoul proposed Red Cross and military meetings with the North, the U.S. government systematically distanced itself from them. White House spokesman Sean Spicer said, “I think President Trump has made clear in the past with respect that any type of conditions that would have to be met are clearly far away from where we are now.” This is nothing short of disapproval.

U.S. State Department East Asia-Pacific spokeswoman Katina Adams reportedly said, “Ask the South Korean government,” when asked about the South’s dialogue pitch. The response could be on the borderline of hostile.

The negative U.S. reactions are self-defeating for the ROK-U.S. joint effort on the North because they have exposed the lack of coordination between them, which Pyongyang is apparently exploiting.

The North kept silent on the South’s military talks to ease tension along the inter-Korean border. Next time, it may be the U.S. proposal that is torpedoed by lack of enthusiasm on Seoul’s part. The only party to benefit is Pyongyang by playing the two off against each other.

In a joint statement issued after Moon’s summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, the two leaders agreed to Seoul’s leading role in promoting peaceful unification on the Korean Peninsula. On that “mandate” President Moon declared his inter-Korean overture in Germany ahead of the G20 meeting and followed it up by proposing the twin talks to the North. Washington reneged on its promise of support and left Moon hung out to dry.

Part of the problem comes down to a reference in the document for the opening of dialogue with the North “under the right conditions.”

As for their negative responses, Spicer and Adams counted on that phrase that is so loosely defined as to leave much room for contention. Still, Seoul quite rightly thought the right conditions had been met for dialogue to ease the rising tension and to build trust with the North. It no doubt was linked with the promotion of peaceful unification.

In contrast, the U.S. believes conditions will be met when a blanket ban on dialogue forces the North to buckle under international sanctions and declare an immediate moratorium on missile and nuclear testing. That is unrealistic and will only cause tension to rise and raise the chance of conflict on the Korean Peninsula.

There is no need to remind ourselves that a second Korean War would surely kill hundreds of thousands of Koreans in the initial stages and may result in North Korean launching long-range missiles at U.S. cities.

To prevent such a tragedy, South Korea and the U.S. should give all possibilities a try and, most of all, stop undermining the other’s efforts.