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| President Moon Jae-in poses with his U.S. counterpart Joe Biden during their summit at the White House in Washington, D.C., Friday (local time). Yonhap |
By Kang Seung-woo
Following President Moon Jae-in's summit with U.S. President Joe Biden that drew Washington's support for inter-Korean cooperation, the government here is providing glimpses of what it will do in its efforts to restore inter-Korean economic cooperation.
However, it remains to be seen if any moves will proceed as planned, with the U.S. still standing firm against the easing or lifting of sanctions on North Korea, according to observers.
According to the joint statement made after last week's summit, the two heads of state reaffirmed their commitment to previous inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korea agreements ― the Panmunjeom Declaration and Singapore Joint Statement, both signed in 2018. This is being seen among advocates for inter-Korean engagement as the Biden administration possibly offering sanctions relief to facilitate economic cooperation between the two Koreas, which has been banned in part by international and U.S. sanctions.
On Tuesday, Unification Minister Lee In-young met with representatives of the Corporate Association of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex (CAGIC) behind closed doors.
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The joint industrial complex in the North Korean border town of Gaeseong, established in 2004, had been the last remaining symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation before it was abruptly shut down by the Park Geun-hye administration, Feb. 10, 2016, in retaliation for the North's fourth nuclear test, Jan. 6, and long-range missile launches, Feb. 7.
Although the Ministry of Unification said the meeting with CAGIC members was merely a courtesy visit by the recently appointed new leadership, there is speculation that the government is looking to re-open the industrial complex.
Moon Chung-in, the chairman of the Sejong Institute and former security and foreign affairs adviser to President Moon, said Tuesday that the government could reach out to the Kim Jong-un regime to discuss economic cooperation before September.
"With the post-summit joint statement backing inter-Korean dialogue, the Moon administration may attempt to begin economic cooperation projects with North Korea before the nation is engulfed by the presidential election vibe," he said during a virtual forum co-hosted by the Sejong Institute and the United States Institute of Peace. The election is scheduled to take place March 9, 2022.
"After September, the President's efforts to boost inter-Korean economic cooperation could lose momentum due to the election," Moon noted.
He added: "It is unclear whether South Korea and the U.S. will jointly support North Korea or whether they will set up a joint working group. But South Korea is expected to launch a project and the U.S. will not object."
Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, said the Moon administration would seek to launch efforts to begin economic cooperation with the North, although it would be a daunting task due to sanctions.
"South Korea wanted the joint statement to mention the Panmunjeom Declaration to gain momentum in reviving stalled inter-Korean ties, and now the government seems to believe that the statement has laid the foundation for South Korea to bypass sanctions for inter-Korean economic cooperation," he said.
"However, U.S. Indo-Pacific coordinator Kurt Campbell recently made it clear that sanctions will not be lifted soon, while Biden did not refer to sanctions relief. In addition, the Biden administration virtually has few options to take in terms of sanctions relief other than an administrative order, but he will not expend such political capital. Without help from the Congress, it is impossible to ease or lift sanctions."
