Ex-foreign minister criticizes 4-party talks

Former foreign minister Han Sung-Joo, now a professor at Korea University, criticized the government¡¯s plan to promote four-way talks on inter-Korean issues among South and North Korea, the United States and China. In a breakfast lecture hosted by the alumni association of the departments of political science and international relations at Seoul National University Friday at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul, Han said, ¡°I cannot understand why President Kim Dae-Jung is clinging to the four-way talks.¡±

¡°The government may lose face by continuing to insist on an event that is unlikely to be realized easily,¡± the former foreign minister said.

After delivering a keynote speech on ¡°The U.S. Presidential Election and the Korean Peninsula,¡± Han was asked about the prospects of four-way talks assuming that Republican George W. Bush becomes the new U.S. president.

¡°It was difficult also in the Clinton administration, but it will be more difficult (with Bush),¡± he said.

¡°The four-way talks are useful only to our government and China, which intends to officially participate in the talks on the problems on the Korean Peninsula,¡± Han said. ¡°The U.S. has little interest in them and North Korea maintains that the talks are not necessary.¡±

¡°The proposal for the four-way talks was made when there was no official dialogue between South and North Korean out of fears that North Korea might try to arrange exclusive talks with the U.S. on security and peace issues,¡± he said.

A government official took issue with Han¡¯s remarks, saying, ¡°It is not a short-term policy but a long-term vision under which the government seeks to replace the armistice agreement with a peace treaty that would be created through the initiative of the South and North, and within the framework of the four-way talks.¡±

¡°Since inter-Korean relations have recently improved, we can expect a possible change in attitude on the part of the North Koreans,¡± the official said.

The former foreign minister also said, ¡°There will be no drastic change (in U.S. policy on the Korean Peninsula) under a Bush administration, but the U.S. is expected to gradually come up with a position on the Korean Peninsula that may run counter to South Korea¡¯s position.¡±

¡°In this case, the Korean government¡¯s radius of action may be reduced,¡± he said.

Han went on to say, ¡°The Korean Peninsula and Asia policies of the presumed Bush administration are expected to be affected by groups of experts rather than the President or officials of the Department of State. For this reason, we have to work out countermeasures that will involve finding our appropriate counterparts.¡±

¡°North Korea and the Republican Party have strained relations due to the North Korea-U.S. Geneva Agreement, which failed to completely remove the North¡¯s nuclear capability,¡± he said. ¡°It has also maintained a critical view of the North, citing the burdens on South Korea, the U.S. and Japan. So we need measures to cope with these potential problems.¡±

Boo Hyung-Kwon bookum90@donga.com