[Editorial] South Korea Cannot Approve North Korea’s Proposal to Exclude the South

North Korea proposed yesterday to hold military talks between North Korea and the U.S to discuss security guarantees and peace on the Korean peninsula. However, North Korea excluded South Korea from the talks by regarding the parties concerned in discussing security on the Korean peninsula as North Korea and the U.S. The North also set the presence of U.S. soldiers in South Korea and the denuclearization of the peninsula as the agenda.

This manipulative movement is yet another reminder of North Korea’s long-held policy of direct talks with the U.S. while containing South Korea.

North Korea’s recent proposal is a prelude to gaining the upper hand in future talks as a declaration of the end of the Korean War and the establishment of a peace regime on the Korean peninsular are likely to be discussed soon, with the six-party talks scheduled next week. By reminding the world that the related parties in the armistice agreement in 1953 were North Korea and the U.S., the North is intent on laying the foundation for direct talks with the U.S. to gain more concessions while delaying nuclear negotiations as much as possible.

What the North means by “the nuclear card held by the U.S.” is the “denuclearization of the Korean peninsula” or removing the protection of the U.S. nuclear umbrella from the peninsula. So even if North Korea keeps making progress in abandoning its nuclear program, the North is likely to link its abandonment to a removal of the U.S. nuclear umbrella. North Korea may want to make six-party talks into armaments reduction talks between the North and the U.S. In that case, South Korea as well as other nations in the six-party talks may have to pay higher prices for North’s nuclear abandonment.

It is also obvious why North Korea has excluded South Korea from future discussions on a peace regime. Although the nation was not a signatory to the 1953 armistice agreement, South Korea was already publicly acknowledged as a substantially concerned party during the four-party talks held among the two Koreas, the U.S. and China from 1994 to 1996. North Korea is fully aware of this fact. The only reason the North has raised the issue all over again is to gain the upper ground by pressuring the South in the military talks between South and North Koreas including general-level talks scheduled to resume on July 24.

This is a classic way of North Korea catching South Korea off guard, even though the South has always showed goodwill in hopes of reconciliation and cooperation. The South Korean government must immediately express its rejection of North Korea’s recent suggestion and prevent the North from getting what it intends to get. It should also make its stance clear to the U.S. as well. It is equivalent to saying that North Korea and the U.S. will take care of discussing peace so South Korea should give the North rice and fertilizer. This is an absolute humiliation. South Korea cannot always keep a low profile while providing aid to the North when it knows the North’s intentions. South Korea should deal with the situation firmly by letting the North realize that it can stop all of its aid to the North very quickly if North Korea continues to maintain such an attitude.