1. Moon: NK sanctions must be lifted
Finally, a clear admission. After days of hints and speculation that South Korea wants some of the sanctions against North Korea to be lifted sooner rather than later (see our previous issue for details), Moon Jae-in told French president Emmanuel Macron on Oct. 15, “If we can form a judgment that at the very least denuclearizing North Korea has reached an irreversible stage, North Korea’s denuclearization must be further spurred on by relaxing UN sanctions.”
However, Macron appeared not to share Moon’s judgment. “I hope that North Korea will show in detail its determination to dismantle the nuclear and missile programs,” Macron apparently told Moon. “Until then, the UN Security Council sanctions must remain in place.”
- Moon had obviously hoped to win Macron’s support at future meetings of the UN Security Council (of which France is a permanent member). But those hopes appear to have been dashed—for now.
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2. US and South Korea increasingly out of sync
Moon’s statement cast light on the growing fissure between Washington and Seoul over how to proceed with denuclearizing North Korea. South Korea wants to provide additional incentives to Kim Jong-un and press ahead with economic cooperation ventures, but the US says it wants no such thing.
The two countries’ ambassadors to each other put out contradictory statements at separate events on Oct. 16, setting the tongues of the domestic press wagging (see, for example, this Kookmin Ilbo article—in Korean).
Harry Harris, the US Ambassador to South Korea, urged solidarity:
“I believe this inter-Korean dialogue must remain linked to denuclearization, and South Korea synchronized with the United States."
Cho Yoon-je, South Korean ambassador to the US, urged on inter-Korean dialogue:
“When inter-Korean relations move ahead of negotiations between North Korea and the US, South Korea will be able to have leverage and play the role of mediator, helping to propel the stalled negotiations between North Korea and the US forward.”
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3. The Blue House on the offensive
At his daily press briefing on Oct. 17, presidential spokesperson Kim Eui-kyeom took the rare step of singling out Chosun Ilbo and Joongang Ilbo—two conservative newspapers that are consistent critics of the current inter-Korean rapprochement—as exaggerating tension between Seoul and Washington.
- Kim told the Blue House press corps: “The mutual support between South Korea and the US is being maintained at the utmost level of cooperation.”
- With sarcasm dripping from every word, he added: “I understand the heart-warming patriotism [of such media outlets] in worrying day and night about the ROK-US relations … but they can now put those concerns aside.” (via Mediapen)
Our take: Chosun Ilbo and other conservative publications mounted similar, effective attacks on the center-left Roh Moo-hyun administration (2003-2008) at any hint of discord between Seoul and Washington. The Blue House is clearly keen on shutting down such talk before it blows over, but Kim’s remarks—heavily covered by domestic media—only served to sow suspicion that not everything may be alright.
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4. Quick hits
- SK ambassador to the UN: Starting construction on inter-Korean railways and roads may violate UN sanctions (via Yonhap)
- Groundbreaking ceremony for inter-Korean railways set for late Nov/early Dec (via Hankyoreh)
- “South Korean firms to stay in Iran despite US sanctions” (via PressTV)
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5. South Korea punts on Yemeni refugees
South Korea’s justice ministry announced its decisions on Wednesday on cases for 458 Yemeni refugees on Jeju Island who had applied for refugee status.
The vast majority (339) were granted one-year humanitarian stay permits—but not asylum.
- This is the same outcome as in the first 23 cases, which were announced on Sep. 14.
- In addition, 34 applications rejected outright, with 85 applications deferred.
Our take: As we’ve written before, the humanitarian stay permit is a cop-out that the South Korean government routinely resorts to when it doesn’t want to grant refugee status but wants to ward off external criticism for expelling asylum seekers.
It worked—to a point. Time.com’s headline read: “Hundreds of Asylum-Seekers From Yemen Granted One-Year Reprieve in South Korea”.
But reporters in most Seoul bureaus were wise to the ruse:
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6. Lady in Chanel
Conservative former lawmaker Kang Yong-suk sparked viral outrage on Tuesday when he took to the internet to criticize the first lady Kim Jung-sook’s fashion and appearance.
In Paris with her husband, Kim wore a Chanel jacket featuring Korean letters in its design. In a Facebook post on Oct. 16, Kang compared her to a model in the same jacket from a 2015 fashion show, writing, “Same clothes, different feeling ㅋㅋㅋ.” (ㅋㅋㅋ is a rendering of the way a derisive laugh sounds in Korean.)
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The charge of extravagance backfired when it was later revealed that Kim’s jacket had been borrowed for the occasion, and criticism mounted over his comments on a woman’s appearance.
But he didn’t stop there. A few hours later, he posted a compilation of photos of Kim from different official functions, writing, “You really don’t look very good. Makes me cry.”
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The big picture: After leaving the National Assembly, Kang became a celebrity lawyer and media personality. His politically incorrect and inflammatory statements are a part of his brand. But the misplaced comments from him and other right-wing figures in recent months have not done any favors to conservatives—who, despite Moon’s lagging approval ratings, have struggled to present themselves as a viable alternative.
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