The Republic of Korean (ROK) has assumed a pro-active role in the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). ROK has stressed that both the United States and the European Union (EU) recognise the seriousness of the evolving situation in Far East Asia with special reference to the provocative activities being undertaken by its northern neighbour, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).
On October 06, ROK Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se visited NATO headquarters in Brussels at the special invitation of the North Atlantic Council (NAC), NATO's principal decision-making body, to highlight the security situation of the Korean Peninsula. This was reiterated in his meeting with NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. He was the third South Korean Foreign Minister to address the NAC after Foreign Minister Ban Ki-moon, the current UN Secretary General, in 2005 and Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan in May 2010.
A day before the NATO meeting, on October 05, Yun Byung-se had a meeting with EU's High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini.
Minister Yun Byung-se underscored the gravity of the North Korean nuclear and missile programmes and the need for NATO to respond. He emphasised that the scenario was becoming graver. The magnitude and frequency of North Korea's nuclear tests in 2016 were unprecedented. Pyongyang, he mentioned, had fired 22 ballistic missiles of various types this year. He referred in this regard to the recent comment made by U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dunford that North Korea's advances in ICBM and SLBM capabilities had made Pyongyang a direct threat even to the continental United States.
Minister Yun reminded NATO and the EU about South Korea's active engagement with NATO in promoting global peace and stability. In this regard he referred to its involvement with the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan. He recalled that South Korea had contributed US$500 million during the period of 2011 through 2016 in Afghanistan and had again in July freshly pledged an additional US$ 255 million in Afghanistan. He recalled that South Korea had dispatched twenty-two rotations of Cheonghae (Blue Sea) Naval Units to assist "Operation Ocean Shield" to combat piracy in Somalia. This active engagement with NATO objectives had also been reaffirmed in Libya, during NATO's "Operation Unified Protector," where the same Cheonghae Unit evacuated some eighty citizens of five European countries.
Minister Yun pointed out that terrorism and violent extremism had swept through Europe and was now making inroads into Asia. It was this new dynamics that had apparently prompted ROK to contribute over US$ 50 million for the stabilisation of Iraq and Syria as part of the activities being carried out by the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL (Islamic State).
The South Korean minister mentioned about the recent UN Security Council press statement which had invoked Article 41 of the UN Charter and asked NATO members to consider taking more resolute measures on relations with North Korea, as stipulated in Article 41, including the possibility of cutting off and downgrading diplomatic relations with Pyongyang.
NORTHEAST ASIA PEACE AND COOPERATION FORUM: This exhaustive approach was taken forward in the 2016 Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Forum (NAPCI) held on October 6-7 in Washington D.C, USA.
Several other dimensions were added to the agenda. This included a Breakout Session on nuclear safety where participants shared the view that, given the large number of nuclear power plants in operation in Northeast Asia, a road map for the establishment of the proposed "Northeast Asia Nuclear Safety Consultative Body" should be drawn up and that cooperation on nuclear safety should be led by the ROK, Japan and China.
While discussing disaster management, participants shared information on their respective countries' disaster response systems and the need for governments, the private sector, the academia and the civil society to play a greater role in disaster management. These were constructive confidence-building suggestions for multilateral cooperation that need to be seriously considered also by member states of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC).
ROK-US SPECIAL MINISTERIAL: This effort of drawing greater attention to peace and stability in North East Asia despite provocation from DPRK was taken forward further at a ROK-US Special Ministerial Meeting held in Washington on October 19. It brought together Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and Defence Minister Han Min-koo from the ROK, and their respective US counterparts - Secretary of State John Kerry and Secretary of Defence Ashton Carter.
The U.S. reaffirmed their steadfast coordination on nuclear and other issues pertaining to North Korea and discussed ways as to how the international community can toughen across-the-board sanctions and intensify pressure on North Korea in a holistic manner. It was agreed that recently launched ROK-US North Korean Human Rights Consultation would be used to promote human rights in North Korea. It was underlined that governments of the two countries would try to expand the strategy and policy aspects of bilateral cooperation within the existing ROK-US alliance. To that end, the meeting decided to establish a high-level Extended Deterrence Strategy and Consultation Group (EDSCG) to be co-chaired by representatives from the Ministry of National Defence, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Department of Defence, and the Department of State, with participation from other relevant agencies. They highlighted the importance of swift Security Council action to facilitate the adoption of a new resolution to further strengthen international response to North Korea's unlawful September 09 nuclear test.
As part of those efforts, the Secretaries and the Ministers reaffirmed their commitment to further enhance ROK-U.S.-Japan trilateral cooperation and regional stability through wide-ranging and close consultations. It was highlighted that the momentum initiated through the March 2016 trilateral summit among President Barack Obama, President Park Geun-hye, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and the September Trilateral Ministerial Meeting in New York on the margins of the 71st United Nations General Assembly, was an important process and needed to be carried forward and sustained with seriousness.
As partners in the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL, the meeting condemned the ISIL's violent extremism in Iraq, Syria, and around the world. In response to an unprecedented refugee crisis, the ROK pledged to maintain its current level of annual humanitarian assistance at US $44 million a year for the next three years and also committed an additional $100 million beyond that level, if so required, within the next three years. The ROK also reaffirmed its contribution of US $255 million for continued promotion of peacekeeping activities in Afghanistan. The other interesting aspect was reaffirmation by ROK that given the importance of alleviating and adapting to climate change, ROK would phase down the production and consumption of hydro fluorocarbons consistent with the Montreal Protocol.
One must admit that these positive meetings within a short span of time have raised ROK's profile not only in Far East Asia but also in the adjoining region. It has probably been the reason why Russia and China have now pushed for resumption of the Six-party talks on denuclearisation in North Korea which have been on hold since 2008. These talks, it may be recalled, also involve Japan, ROK and the United States.
The writer, a former Ambassador, is an analyst specialised in foreign affairs, right to information and good governance. [email protected]
- Friday, 22 November 2024 |
- Today's FE |
- e-Paper |
- Beta Website
