Beware of the North’s volte-face

Wi Sung-lac
The author is a former Korean representative to the six-party talks and head of the diplomacy and security division of the JoongAng Ilbo’s Reset Korea campaign.

North Korea finally declared, “Unification is impossible and the South-North relationship is between two hostile states.” Pyongyang also banned the use of terms such as “the same people” or “unification,” not to mention abolishing organizations involved in inter-Korean exchanges. Though the international community perceived South and North Korea as separate countries in the past, the two countries defined their relationship as a “tentative, special relationship until unification” in the 1991 Basic Agreement.

The conflicting views between the two Koreas and the rest of the world have persisted ever since. With the drastic change in North Korea’s position, however, the recognition of the bilateral relations as “extraordinary ones” will lose momentum. That poses a big challenge for the South’s unification policy.

In turn, the Yoon Suk Yeol administration criticized North Korea for “denying the long history as one people.” Given apparent follow-up steps the North will take, the tit-for-tat verbal exchange is just the tip of the iceberg.

The recalcitrant state across the border is poised to amend its Constitution to brand South Korea as its archenemy and establish the grounds for occupying the South to incorporate it into the North. It will certainly try to convince China and Russia of the inevitability to define inter-Korean ties as distinct ones. China and Russia will most likely support the North’s about-turn, as it will benefit them more than not: The amendment will help ensure the existence of a “buffer state” on their borders. Even the United States and Japan would accept the clarification of the two-state system in their bid to draw South Korea closer to their side to consolidate their tripartite security cooperation against the North-China-Russia axis. Therefore, the two-state proposition is expected to gain ground in the future.

Such developments are ominous for South Korea, as they will certainly narrow the room for the South’s maneuvering for unification and possibly lead to a prolonged division of the Korean Peninsula. On South Korea’s part, its “special relationship” with North Korea — and the inevitability of unification — serve it better. For instance, if the South should deal with the North as simply another foreign country in the case of a humanitarian disaster or a massive exodus from North Korea, South Korea’s leverage will be critically damaged. If the South just ignores them, the country can hardly preach about responsibility or value diplomacy in the international community.

The division of the land originated from the drawing of the 38th parallel in 1945 by the powers. South Korea must not take the path of a permanent division, as the country has emerged as a middle power with the 10th largest economy in the world. That calls for a keen sense of urgency about the alarming developments around us. The government must aggressively tackle the challenge beyond simply opposing the North’s position.

First of all, the government must persist with the special relations with North Korea and ultimate unification, starting with consolidating our position. Fortunately, there is no disagreement on the issue among political circles. Even the opposition Democratic Party’s leader Lee Jae-myung made clear his opposition to the North’s position. And yet, a considerable number of South Koreans feel negatively about or are indifferent to unification. The government must canvass such public opinions, persuade them and seek their support for the extraordinary relationship proposition and justification for unification. That will surely help solidify our position.

Second, Seoul must engage in aggressive diplomacy to persuade Washington and Tokyo to accept its position, while dissuading Beijing and Moscow from trying to prolong the division of the land by helping Pyongyang advance its nuclear weapons capability. In this respect, it is not desirable for the Yoon administration to continue worsening our relations with China and Russia. The government must leave room for our diplomatic maneuver with the two powers to achieve the goal.

At the same time, the government must consider revising our Constitution in accordance with the North’s move to amend its own Constitution. Fixing our position on the issue requires a national-level discussion and consensus. Considering the North’s move to insert a provocative clause aimed at merging the South into the North to its Constitution, our government needs to consider setting the basis for the opposite to our Constitution, as stipulated in Article 23 of West Germany’s Basic Law.

If South Korea fails to deal with North Korea’s volte-face aggressively now, the peninsula will likely head for another century of division. Given the lackluster support for unification in the South, its politicians and other leaders should be awakened before it’s too late.

Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.