Understanding the North Korea Policy of the Lee Administration
1) Does the Lee Myung-bak administration deny previous governments policies?
In particular, all previous governments pursued the establishment of peace on the Korean peninsula and the advancement of inter-Korean relations.
- However, considering then reality, they have taken different approaches and different level of engagement toward the North.
In response to the swirling changes brought up by the global wave since the end of the Cold War in the late 1980s, the ROK government had made efforts to establish peace on the Korean peninsula and build the foundation for unification.
- It answered the call of the time by adopting the July 7 Declaration in 88, Korean National Community Unification Formula in 89 and the Act on Inter-Korean Exchanges and Cooperation Act in 90.
- The fundamental objectives of these measures are to stimulate positive changes through inter-Korean exchanges and to improve relations between the two Koreas.
The Sunshine Policy of the past 10 years has sought these goals aggressively.
- Based on such efforts, inter-Korean exchanges and cooperation expanded; the level of the North s dependence on the South increased; and the North Korean people s views on the South changed positively; which in turn contributed tremendously to the advancement of inter-Korean relations.
- In the meantime, there has been some criticism among the South Korean people regarding the way and the scale of the government s engagement toward the North. Criticism was so high mainly because of the North s lack of change, nuclear and missile tests, and South Korea s unilateral support for the North.
The Policy of Mutual Benefits and Common Prosperity aims to advance the Sunshine Policy to a step forward through pragmatic and result-oriented approaches.
- In pursuit of its best national interest, the Lee Myung-bak administration will make the best use of the achievements of previous policies, right the wrongs pointed out by the people, and thus advance inter-Korean relations.
- The government will resolutely abide by the principles and implement the policy based on a national consensus.
2) Does the Lee Myung-bak administration deny the June 15 Joint Declaration in 2000 and
the October 4 Summit Declaration in 2007?
The DPRK criticized that the ROK government had been denying both declarations and demanded that the South implement these declarations before resuming inter-Korean dialogue.
The Lee administration, however, has never denied or ignored both declarations.
- Rather, it has reiterated several times that it respects the spirit of the July 4 Joint Declaration, the South-North Basic Agreement, the Joint Declaration on the Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, the June 15 Joint Declaration and the October 4 Declaration.
- The administration has also made it clear that it hopes to discuss on how to implement those summit declarations with the North based on the reality and mutual respect.
- Specifically, President Lee himself made it public during his opening speech to the National Assembly on July 11, as well as the opening remarks to the domestic regional conference of the National Unification Advisory Council on September 22.
Inter-Korean dialogue is essential to implement those declarations.
- Since the October 4 Declaration only agreed on basic concept and direction of the South-North projects, the two Koreas need to consult with each other to come up with concrete and tangible measures to implement it.
- The priorities should be set beforehand given the tremendous cost of the implementation of the declaration.
- In this sense, we need to come up with implementation measures through inter-Korean dialogue, and North Korea should come to the dialogue.
3) Is the Vision 3000 a hostile policy toward North Korea?
Both the North and the some South Koreans criticize that the Vision 3000: Denuclearization and Openness is the Lee administration s way of saying that it will do nothing before complete denuclearization of the North which seems to take quite a long period of time. They claim that the initiative puts the disabling North Korea s nuclear facilities as a precondition for an inter-Korean economic cooperation, and is a confrontational gesture toward the North.
However, the Vision 3000 does not set denuclearization of North Korea as a precondition for economic cooperation.
- The Lee administration has kept expressing that the Vision 3000 is designed to expand economic cooperation between the two Koreas according to progress in the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue.
- Currently, inter-Korean economic cooperation in the private sector has been on the steady increase, which demonstrates that North Korea is making wrong argument.
4) Is the Lee Myung-bak administration taking a hard-line policy toward North Korea?
The Lee administration has never taken a hard-line attitude toward the North. Rather, it has kept taking active measures in order to advance the inter-Korean relations.
- It put forward the Policy of Mutual Benefits and Common Prosperity, and is flexible in dealing with pending inter-Korean issues.
- It stays clam and has never directly confronted the criticisms from North Korea.
- It has proposed the North to come to the comprehensive and sincere talks.
- It encourages active inter-Korean economic cooperation.
- It will not link the resolution of the Mt. Geumgang shooting incident with other inter-Korean issues.
- It has expressed its intention to provide the North with 50,000 tons of corn twice, but the North turned down those offers.
Therefore, it is a misunderstanding that the Lee Myung-bak administration is taking a hard-line attitude toward the North.
