▲ Foreign Minister Cho Hyun delivers a briefing during a ministry work report presided over by President Lee Jae-myung at the Blue House Yeongbinwan on the 5th.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated today (August 6) that its North Korea policy heavily weighs the role of a 'pacemaker' to support the resumption of dialogue between the United States and North Korea, adding that new initiatives such as four-way talks proposed by the Ministry of Unification require further internal consultations and coordination within the government.
A high-ranking official from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with reporters and said that there is "no change" to the 'peacemaker and pacemaker' framework for now, noting, "We are explaining our Korean Peninsula policy not only between South Korea and the U.S., but to all neighboring countries and across all diplomatic situations."
Regarding the formation of multilateral dialogue to discuss a peace regime, the official explained, "It must go through a process of additional internal consultations and coordination within the government."
The official added that new initiatives such as the 'peacemaker-pacemaker plus' and four-way talks presented by the Ministry of Unification in its work report should be pursued after government-wide coordination and consultations with relevant nations.
Regarding the Ministry of Unification's announcement yesterday (August 5) that it would secure momentum for four-way talks involving the two Koreas, the U.S., and China, Foreign Minister Cho Hyun pointed out, "Any hope based on idealism, even if it is, is somewhat one of those methods that has not yet been fully coordinated."
However, when asked about the fact that launching a four-way or six-way cooperation mechanism is an initiative reflected in the Lee Jae-myung administration's national tasks finalized at a Cabinet meeting last September, the high-ranking Foreign Ministry official replied, "I am not precisely aware of the occasion or how it was reported."
At the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs guarded against interpretations that Foreign Minister Cho's remarks had sparked inter-ministry conflict.
The official explained that Minister Cho was pointing out that some of the items mentioned by the Ministry of Unification, such as four-way talks or participation in the Eastern Economic Forum, are still at a stage that has not undergone inter-agency coordination, rather than expressing opposition to the entire work report of the Ministry of Unification.
In addition, the official added, "The Korean Peninsula peace coexistence policy is a common goal of the government," and "The government has been consistently pursuing the policy of peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula centered around the National Security Council (NSC) under close coordination among relevant ministries."
(Photo provided by the Blue House Press Corps, Yonhap News)
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