President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hold hands as they cross the military demarcation line during their first meeting at Panmunjeom, April 27, 2018. Korea Times file

Conservative bloc criticizes gov't for using inter-Korean detente for political ends

By Kang Seung-woo

North Korea's "unexpected" overture for talks, including a possible inter-Korean summit, is prompting speculation that another period of detente on the Korean Peninsula could be emerging that may have an influence on next year's presidential election here.

Given that rapprochement between South and North Korea has historically favored the liberal bloc in elections, conservatives have already stepped up their criticism of the government and the North Korean regime for trying to work the political event to their advantage.

President Moon Jae-in proposed declaring a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War in his speech at the United Nations last week, and Kim Yo-jong, the influential sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, responded positively, Saturday, further hinting at the two countries holding another summit between their leaders. The two Koreas are technically still at war after the three-year conflict ended in an armistice.

"I think that only when impartiality and the attitude of mutual respect are maintained, can there be smooth understanding between the North and the South and, furthermore, can several issues for improving relations ― the reestablishment of the North-South joint liaison office and a North-South summit, to say nothing of the timely declaration of the significant termination of the war ― see meaningful and successful resolutions one by one at an early date through constructive discussions," she said.

In response, Cheong Wa Dae described her remarks as "meaningful."

However, the North Korean response seems to be ruffling the feathers of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), as it has harshly criticized both South and North Korea for using the possibility of another inter-Korean summit for their political purposes.

"There is no doubt that the government and the ruling party have the intention of creating a dichotomy over war or peace ahead of the presidential election," PPP Chairman Lee Jun-seok said during his visit to the United States, Sunday (local time).

"Just as the (first Moon-Kim) inter-Korean summit was ahead of the 2018 local elections, the government and the ruling party are approaching inter-Korean relations superficially by again drawing up a simple scheme."

President Moon met with Kim Jong-un for the first time on April 27, 2018, two months ahead of the local elections that chose 17 mayors and governors, and the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) claimed a landslide victory on the back of the resultant "peace mood" on the Korean Peninsula.

Lee also complained that the government was proposing a premature and untimely end-of-war declaration, while trying to frame the PPP as opposing inter-Korean detente.

Former Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong, a presidential hopeful of the PPP, also slammed the Moon administration's peace overture to North Korea.

"Even if we declare an end to the war tomorrow, it is meaningless," Won said. "It would be nothing more than North Korea's 10 billion won lip service that is a result of the Ministry of Unification's announced support for the Inter-Korean Cooperation Fund."

On Friday, the unification ministry stated that it would provide up to 10 billion won ($8.5 million) for civic organizations carrying out aid projects for North Koreans facing urgent humanitarian needs amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In response, Park Soo-hyun, senior presidential secretary for public communication, denied the PPP's claim, Monday.

"It is understandable that some are apprehensive over holding an inter-Korean summit ahead of the presidential election, but we are not the ones who masterminded such an important issue for political ends," he said in a radio interview.

The PPP's strong response comes from the past track record of the totalitarian state's actions ahead of previous major elections in South Korea.

In February 2017, three months before the presidential election, North Korea test-fired a medium-range ballistic missile. And previously, in January 2016, the country conducted its fourth nuclear test three months before the South held a general election.

The DPK won these elections, although it remains uncertain as to whether North Korea's provocations had an effect.

President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with Kim Yo-jong ahead of an inter-Korean summit at Panmunjeom in this May 25, 2018 photo. Korea Times file

However, Pyongyang watchers said North Korea's overture would not have much influence this time.

"I do not know what North Korea has in mind, but if it tries to influence the presidential election, it would be a foolish decision because it does not know too much about the situation or public opinion here toward the North," said Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies.

"Although President Roh Moo-hyun held a summit with then-North Korean leader Kim Jong-il before the presidential election, the conservative party won the next election and the North should remember that."

Despite the inter-Korean summit in October 2007, Lee Myung-bak from the conservative Grand National Party was elected president two months later.

However, Ramon Pacheco Pardo, a professor of international relations at King's College London, said North Korea's peace overture had to do with its future relations with a new South Korean administration.

"I think that Pyongyang is serious about improving ties with Seoul. And it makes sense to try to do this while President Moon is still in office," Pacheco Pardo said.

"If another liberal wins the presidency, most likely they will follow the same policy as President Moon so any dialogue with him would be a starting point for relations with the new president. And if a conservative wins, they wouldn't want to go back to the period of tensions that we witnessed from 2010 to 2017. So a conservative president would be tempted to seek engagement with Pyongyang. Particularly with a Biden administration that clearly wants no tensions with North Korea, and which seems to be open to diplomacy."