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Newly appointed foreign minister rules out carrots for North

Published: 11 Jan. 2024, 15:59

Cho Tae-yul, appointed as foreign minister on Thursday, speaks with the press at the ministry building in central Seoul on Thursday morning. [NEWS1]

Newly appointed Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul dismissed any likelihood that the South Korean government would offer carrots to the North any time soon.

“As North Korea continues to advance its nuclear and missile capabilities, this is not the time to consider dialogue,” Cho told reporters at the Foreign Ministry building in Seoul on his first day at work since his appointment Thursday. “After all, isn’t it North Korea refusing all dialogue?”

He added that South Korea will maintain its firm stance against the North, condemning its suspected arms deals with Russia.

The foreign ministers of 48 countries, including South Korea, the United States and Japan, condemned North Korea’s transfer of ballistic missiles to Russia and their use in the latter's ongoing aggression against Ukraine in a joint statement on Wednesday.

The permanent representatives of South Korea and the United States to the UN Security Council also criticized Russia on Wednesday for using North Korean ballistic missiles in their attacks against Ukraine in violation of multiple council resolutions. However, the Russian envoy to the council dismissed the criticisms, calling them baseless claims.

“We have corresponding intelligence and will continue to cooperate with partner countries to share knowledge and intelligence to respond,” Cho told the press in Seoul on Thursday.

Cho, reportedly scheduled to be on a call with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken before the end of the week, said he would also try to visit Beijing as early as possible.

Cho is a career diplomat of 40 years and an expert in trade negotiations and multilateral engagements, having served as ambassador to the UN between 2016 and 2019.

Returning to the ministry four years after his retirement, Cho said he feels “a heavy sense of duty” to leave a good legacy for Korea’s international relations.

His immediate predecessor, Park Jin, gave a farewell speech on Wednesday, reflecting on his year and a half of work at the ministry's helm.

He said that strengthening relations with Washington and normalizing ties with Tokyo were some of the ministry’s top achievements during his tenure.

Park Jin waves with staff members at the Foreign Ministry in Seoul on Wednesday after he gave his farewell speech concluding his foreign ministership, which began in May 2022. [NEWS1]

He admitted his regrets for the government’s failure to win the bid to host the World Expo in 2030 in Busan but added that Korea could still diversify its supply chain through these efforts.

Park, a former four-term lawmaker, plans to run again for a parliamentary seat in the general election in April.
He said that raising the Foreign Ministry's budget will be one of his goals in office.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs budget is still only about 0.64 percent of the entire government budget,” he said. “It should be at least 1 percent to demonstrate advanced diplomatic capabilities.”

Park also congratulated Cho on his appointment.

“As a career diplomat, Cho comes with a wealth of experience and expertise, and he is also a man of great character,” he said. “I do not doubt that under Minister Cho’s leadership, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will develop further to realize Korea's vision to be a Global Pivotal State.”

BY ESTHER CHUNG [[email protected]]