North Korea continues to ratchet up its bellicose rhetoric toward the United States as we enter the new year. Kim Jong Un, admitting that U.S. sanctions are working against his fledgling regime, has told the U.S. that he has “given up” on denuclearization.
Kim will no longer be honoring a commitment to a nuclear testing moratorium between North Korea and the U.S. and said new tests will begin again. This brash action is proof that the sanctions being implemented against the regime are working. What the general public seems not to realize is that South Korean leadership is taking a dovish approach toward the Kim regime to give up its nuclear arsenal. This is making the situation worse, not better.
The most important partner in the maximum pressure campaign against Kim is not pressuring but rather is capitulating to North Korea. This weak policy is stemming from the office of the president.
In the latest show of acquiescence to the North Korean regime, South Korean President Moon Jae-in sent a desperate invitation to Kim to attend November’s special Association of South East Nations summit. The North Korean government flatly rejected Moon’s offer, saying representatives could not attend due to the “beclouded air of South Korea.” This cryptic language is referring to the existing sanctions that the South has implemented on the North.
What was North Korea’s thanks to Moon’s invitation to the ASEAN summit? A barrage of artillery rounds in December was test-fired right along the South Korean border. How had Moon been expecting Kim to respond?
The artillery test may have been a warning from the North Korean regime to the U.S. that it hasn’t met its “year-end deadline” to offer a new approach to resolving the longstanding dispute over its nuclear program, but it was also a rebuke to Moon that Kim is unaffected by his kowtowing. This form of aggressive diplomacy by Kim is meant to pressure Moon into lifting sanctions, and more importantly, it is intended to drive a wedge into the U.S.-South Korean relationship.
Kim and his generals know that the odds of the U.S. changing course on sanctions and denuclearization are low. They also know that Moon has a history of being sympathetic to North Korea and surrounding himself with controversial figures in his administration.
Unlike his predecessors Park Geun-hye and Lee Myung-bak, who held staunchly anti-North Korea, pro-American views, Kim knows that Moon has a soft spot for North Korea. Kim is taking advantage of that to better position himself in negotiations with the U.S. Moon’s policy on North Korea is a liability during these sensitive times.
Moon’s flip-flopping over the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system being implemented in South Korea, as well as his posh delegations, visits, and gifts being sent to Pyongyang in an effort to woo Kim without once taking a hard stance with the North is a surefire setup for abuse. Moon’s starry-eyed dream of peaceful reunification has blinded his ability to notice deception from the Kim regime. Kim’s rejection of Moon’s invitation to the ASEAN summit and subsequent artillery test along the Demilitarized Zone are clear examples of this.
The Kim regime is a real threat to the U.S., South Korea, Japan, and the entire Asia-Pacific region. Moon’s friendly overtures toward Kim have not been reciprocated and are not helping with the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. If Moon truly wants a denuclearized peninsula, he should know when to walk away from the table, but he doesn’t seem to want to do so.
The population of South Korea, especially the youth, must recognize that Moon is hindering, not helping the denuclearization efforts being pursued by the U.S. This year’s legislative elections in South Korea are fast approaching. With his poll numbers slumping as a result of scandals in his administration, sluggish economic growth, and Kim snubbing his proposals for talks, Moon’s Minjoo Party very well could lose seats, giving way for the opposition to form a working majority in the assembly. This would provide a needed check on his power, forcing him to take a harder stance on North Korea.
Ensuring a denuclearized peninsula does not mean acquiescing to every demand that Kim dictates, which is exactly what Moon is doing. In times of sensitive negotiations, former U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt’s saying rings true: “Walk softly and carry a big stick.” This is what the U.S. is doing.
Michelle Steel, a native of South Korea, sits on Trump’s Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. She is also vice chair of the Orange County, California Board of Supervisors.
