Kang Kyung-wha identifies 2020 as a year for inter-Korean peace

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha gives the Foreign Ministry’s New Year’s address in Seoul on Jan. 2. (Yonhap News)

S. Korean foreign minister emphasizes deepening the country’s relationship with neighbors

South Korean Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha gives the Foreign Ministry’s New Year’s address in Seoul on Jan. 2. (Yonhap News)

South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha said on Jan. 2 that her “task for this year” would be to “use these past efforts toward dialogue as a stepping stone to end the confrontation on the Korean Peninsula and make major strides toward establishing peace in the true sense.”

Delivering a New Year’s address at a Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) kick-off meeting that day at the MOFA complex in Seoul’s Doryeom neighborhood, Kang said, “As the 70th anniversary of the outbreak of the Korean War, this needs to be a year of making strides toward a peaceful Korean Peninsula where there is never again any danger of war.”

She went on to stress the need to “deepen our relationships with our four neighbors and achieve more substantive diversification of our diplomacy based on a solid South Korea-US alliance.”

“We must put into practice a vision of [South Korea as] a ‘bridge nation’ that actively contributes to peace and prosperity for Northeast Asia and the world in addition to establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula,” she said.

Commenting on North Korea-US negotiations with reporters after the meeting, Kang said, “I think the momentum for dialogue would be difficult to sustain without the role that we play.”

“We need coordination between South Korea and the US and ongoing discussions and communication with China, Russia, and Japan,” she said.

“While I can’t really talk about the concrete elements, it’s more effective for North Korea as well when [the other parties] are sending a united message based on discussions,” she added.

“That kind of space does exist, judging from North Korea’s message,” she continued, referring to the results of a Workers’ Party of Korea plenary session announced on Jan. 1.

Commenting on the issue of forced labor mobilization survivors among other areas in South Korea-Japan relations, Kang said, “At the South Korea-Japan summit last month, we confirmed the intent to continue dialogue on forced labor mobilization among diplomatic authorities.”

“No schedule has been set right now, but we are working with the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs to establish an opportunity,” she said.

By Kim So-youn, staff reporter

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