President Park Jae Kyu Interviews with The Korea Times
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President Park Jae Kyu Interviews with The Korea Times
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  • 승인 2022.03.22 10:37
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A t t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s G e n e r a l Assembly, in September 2021, President Moon Jae In proposed a declaration of the end of the Korean War to normalize inter-Korean relations and resume delayed nuclear talks. President Moon’s administration drew support for the termination of war through discussions with the U.S. and China. As a result, the U.S., North Korea, and China agreed to officially conclude the Korean War based “on principle,” on December 13th, 2021. President Park Jae Kyu Interviews with The Korea Times By Ock Ju-won KT Editor Kyungnam Times ● 3 With this success, President Moon’s administration will keep promoting policies for peace on the Korean
Peninsula until the end of his term in May 2022. President Park Jae Kyu, also former Minister of Unification, stated in the interview with The Korea Times , “President Moon’s proposal for the end of the war shows his willingness to resolve the long-term deadlock in inter-Korean relations and U.S.-North Korea relations. However, even if the proposal cannot be fully implemented within President Moon’s term, it is still desirable to calmly prepare for peace on the Korean Peninsula with continuous and consistent discussions.” The following is adapted from the contents of the interview between the reporter Kang Seung-woo from The Korea Times and KU President Park Jae Kyu.
Many countries around the world, including Australia and the UK, are boycotting the Beijing Winter Olympics. What do you think of Korea's stance on this? The 1950-53 Korean War ended with a truce between three parties: North Korea, China and UN forces led by the United States. The key point is that the U.S. and China, signatories of the armistice agreement, must participate; it is not easy because of the rising tension in U.S.-China relations. Even the U.S. recently decided to boycott the Beijing Winter Olympics; leaving the future of U.S.-China relations to seem more uncertain due to China's determined response. President Moon released a statement, on December 13th, by saying South Korea is not considering participating in the diplomatic boycott of the Beijing Winter Olympics; must have a positive impact on the declaration of the end of the Korean War. If China actively supports the end-of-war declaration, North Korea will have no choice but to consider China’s position. In fact, North Korea has to express its position on setting the stage for the transition of the end-ofwar declaration to a peace regime; North Korea cannot refuse the declaration proposed by the Moon administration. Since the 2019 North Korea– United States Hanoi Summit ended without an agreement, relations between North Korea and the U.S., and inter-Korean relations have been stalled. What efforts do you think are needed to normalize the relationship?
Spotlight KU 4 Since the assertion to end the war must contain declaration, communication, and consultation, the countries directly involved must be part of the process. However, with Joseph Biden elected as the 46th U.S. president, there has been no progress of nuclear talks between North Korea and the United States. In fact, the U.S. government has repeatedly suggested North Korea’s regime to meet ‘anywhere, anytime.’ However, it is difficult to build new trust with North Korea because the U.S. sticks to the position that it has no hostile policy against North Korea or that it will resume dialogue without preconditions. The U.S. should manage the North Korean issue stably because there is a midterm election in November 2022. If the U.S. is satisfied with managing the situation simply in a way that does not give North Korea a reason for provocation, it will be difficult to expect change and progress.
Currently, Korea-Japan relations have fallen to the worst level in years due to Japan’s export controls on three key materials important to the semiconductor and display industries. What position should Korea take on the relationship between Korea and Kyungnam Times ● 5 Japan, which is rarely narrowed?
The current situation seems to be in retaliation for the Supreme Court of Korea's order that Japanese companies
should compensate Koreans who had to work forcibly for them during World War II. Considering the Japanese
political schedule, such as the launch of the relatively moderate Fumio Kishida Cabinet and the House of Councilors
election in July, it is unlikely that Japan will change its conservative policy against Korea. Thus, Japan will keep an eye on the 2022 Korean presidential election in March.
The historical problem is one of the biggest obstacles to the two nations’ relations that cannot be overcome just by
making concessions by one side. The next Korean government will need to continue to pursue solving these obstacles while acknowledging the difference in position between the two countries. In order to cope with urgent global problems, such as COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and disruptions of supply chain, it is necessary for Korea and Japan to strengthen a cooperative relationship. Furthermore, it is necessary not only to continuously encourage Japan to cooperate to solve the inter-Korea problems, but also to persevere to improve cooperation between Korea, the
U.S., and Japan.

 


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