[INTERVIEW] Preventing Iran from acquiring North Korean weapons is a global interest: Israeli foreign minister

Diplomacy

Published: 11 Jun. 2023, 15:41

[INTERVIEW] Preventing Iran from acquiring North Korean weapons is a global interest: Israeli foreign minister

Eli Cohen, foreign minister of Israel, speaks with the Korea JoongAng Daily in Seoul on Wednesday. [PARK SANG-MOON]

A reality in which Iran gains nuclear weapons from North Korea would be a lose-lose for many democracies worldwide, said Eli Cohen, the foreign minister of Israel, during his recent trip to Korea.

“We believe we have to keep a close eye and make sure that the DPRK is blocked from any aid it might seek to provide to Iran in its quest for weapons of mass destruction,” said Cohen in speaking with the Korea JoongAng Daily in Seoul on Wednesday, referring to North Korea by the acronym of its full name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“It’s in the global interest, for Korea and all the other democratic states, to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, since like North Korea, this wouldn’t be just a local threat, it would pose a global threat.”

Cohen was in Seoul from Tuesday to Wednesday, marking the first foreign ministerial visit from Israel to Korea in 11 years.

In a fully-packed schedule, Cohen visited the Joint Security Area at the inter-Korean border and met with Foreign Minister Park Jin, Economy Minister Lee Chang-yang and National Security Adviser Cho Tae-yong. He also met with some of the doctors who treated the Israelis injured in a deadly bus accident in April.

Foreign Minister of Israel Eli Cohen, fourth from right; Israeli Ambassador to Korea Akiva Tor, second from right; and members of the Israel Embassy in Seoul present appreciation awards to doctors at Yonsei University Wonju Health System in Gangwon for their medical services to the Israeli tourists injured from the deadly bus accident in April. The awards ceremony was held at the Grand Hyatt Seoul on Wednesday. [PARK SANG-MOON]

While much of the discussions and meetings focused on the bilateral agenda, some rendered moments for Israel and Korea to see each other as regional partners.

“We spoke about some multilateral projects, [involving] Israel, South Korea and countries from the Arab world like the Emirates,” he said, referring to Israel’s normalization of ties with the U.A.E. brokered by the United States in 2020.

Joined by over a dozen Israeli companies representing the country’s start-up and tech industry, the delegation also signed several multi-million dollars worth of agreements on smart mobility and robotics with Korea.

“We complete each other,” said the top envoy, adding that Korea’s “scaled-up engineering genius” and Israeli start-up innovation can achieve much more together, especially as the two nations follow-up on the details of their free trade agreement signed in 2021, the first between Israel and an Asian nation.

To hear more about the Israeli expectations and agenda with Korea on technology and security, as well as on soft power and culture, the Korea JoongAng Daily sat down with Cohen on Wednesday. The following are edited excerpts of the interview.

How did the first visit by the foreign minister of Israel to Korea in 11 years come about — why now and why Korea?

Israel and Korea are very good friends, and our relationship can be even more substantial. We just marked 60 years in our diplomatic relations, and we believe there is tremendous opportunity for us to take Israel-Korea relations to a new level at all levels — political, economic and defense. This is what brings me to this magnificent land of morning calm and frenetic high technology.

The Israeli and Korean economies complete each other — scaled-up engineering genius and Israeli startup innovation. I am accompanied by an economic delegation focused primarily on smart mobility and advanced automotive technology. We should be building together the future leading autonomous vehicle — designed, engineered and manufactured by Korea and directed by breakthrough innovative Israeli mobility software.

Part of your schedule in Seoul includes a visit to the Joint Security Area and the demilitarized zone (DMZ).

I wanted to see first-hand some of the security dilemmas of the Republic of Korea which are not unrelated to our own. Israel feels great solidarity with the Republic of Korea and supports the security of this vibrant democracy. The demilitarized zone reminds us of challenges that we in Israel face constantly, on our northern border and also at a distance from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Israel’s antimissile system, the Iron Dome, has been referred to numerous times by security experts in Korea when discussing antimissile systems to counter threats from North Korea. What is your response to such comparisons?

I believe that Israel and Korea are facing many similar challenges and should seek ways to work together to develop strategic and tactical answers to the challenges we face. We both have strong defense industries with powerful engineering and operational awareness, and like-minded countries like our who find themselves with a significant national security challenge should help each other.

How have you viewed the latest escalation of security tensions on the Korean Peninsula?

We support entirely the security of the Republic of Korea. North Korea’s aggressive missile and nuclear weapons program should not be allowed to proliferate further. We believe we have to keep a close eye and make sure that the DPRK is blocked from any aid it might seek to provide to Iran in its quest for weapons of mass destruction.

What was your message to the Korean medical staff who treated the Israeli victims of the bus accident in April, during your meeting with them in Korea?

The wisest man, King Solomon, said “If they fall, one will lift up his friend” (Ecclesiastes 4:10). We felt Korea’s friendship during this terrible accident. We were far away from home, but we felt our people were in good hands and that the Korean system was handling our people as if they were their own. I wanted to thank personally some of the surgeons and emergency room personnel who did so much to save life and limb.

Reports have increasingly posed the possibility of more trilateral cooperation between the U.A.E., Israel and Korea, especially since Israel and the U.A.E. normalized ties in 2020. What is the Israeli government’s position on such trilateral economic and security cooperation?

We believe there is much benefit to be derived from cooperation between the most successful Arab state and the most successful non-Arab state in the Middle East and with one of the premier dynamic economies of East Asia, Korea. I believe we can do unique things in hydrogen technology, clean energy and blue economy. The Abraham Accords have changed our region for the better and opened up many opportunities for more partners to join in order to promote regional stability and economic growth, this is indeed another valid path to explore.

The global image of a country plays a significant part in its foreign relations. Recent media reports showed nationwide protests in Israel against the current administration’s judicial reform, which some critics said will weaken Israel’s democracy.

Israel is a fiercely vibrant democracy where we argue passionately, sometimes even with too much passion, over many issues, including the proper balance of power between the judicial system and parliament. We have begun a dialogue process under the auspices of the Israeli president and I hope this will lead us to a consensus as to how Israel can be a more perfect democracy. Israel is a family, and I don’t believe we can make large changes in our governmental system without wide public buy-in.

What is your response to the growing number of analyses questioning the sustainability of Israel and Palestine’s two-state solution?

The Palestinian people are our neighbors and we will live next to each other forever. I hope and believe we will find ways to increase the coordination and cooperation between us, for our mutual security and the mutual benefit of our people. The two-state solution is one model, but not the only one by which we can find accommodation for our essential needs as people ruling themselves.

How do you think the people of Israel and Korea can better connect with each other’s heritage and culture?

I see so much of Israel in Korea. Even though we are at opposite ends of Asia and we do not share ethnicity, religion or even a common geostrategic focus. But consider it: Both our peoples are quite ancient, but our modern nation-states are newly established in 1948. We both underwent a dismal 20th century but refused to be victims and have managed to build successful and prosperous democracies without resources and only hard work. We are both facing a significant national security threat related to nuclear WMD [weapons of mass destruction] and missiles. We are both like-minded and strong allies of the United States.

Korea and Israel are significant cultures, buffeted in a sea of larger powers, but we seek to make our mark in the world and we know we have something real and unique to contribute. I am thinking that this is why Korea and Israel loom so large in each other’s imagination.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]