S Korea outlines North Korea "peace package" as sanctions hurdles loom

Dec. 22 (Asia Today) -- South Korea's Unification Ministry has outlined a "peace package" for North Korea that includes proposals such as a Seoul-Beijing rail connection, international tourism tied to the Wonsan-Kalma area and a new "peace trade" framework, but analysts say the plans face major obstacles under existing sanctions and North Korea's current stance.

Diplomatic sources said advancing most of the proposals would require exemptions, easing or lifting of international sanctions that restrict North Korea's external trade and access to foreign currency. That would require consultations with the United States and permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, along with other relevant countries, to create conditions for inter-Korean exchange and cooperation.

Experts said the challenge is twofold: negotiating any sanctions flexibility and eliciting a positive response from Pyongyang.

The ministry has signaled it wants to expand the inter-Korean railway project pursued under the Moon Jae-in administration into a broader South-North-China rail link framed as multilateral cooperation. Analysts said involving more parties also increases the number of variables and coordination hurdles.

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Projects such as international tourism connected to Wonsan-Kalma and a new trade system are also seen as difficult to pursue as long as sanctions continue to block North Korea's ability to earn foreign currency, analysts said.

Even if Seoul were to secure some form of sanctions relief, analysts said the more difficult task may be persuading North Korea to engage. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said at a December 2023 party meeting that inter-Korean relations should be treated as those of "two hostile states" and later reiterated that North Korea would not sit down with South Korea, the report said. He has remained silent on Seoul's proposals for talks, including military dialogue, it added.

Park Won-gon, a professor at Ewha Womans University, said some initiatives could become feasible if North Korea were to take denuclearization steps and corresponding sanctions were partially lifted. He added that if North Korea's policy toward South Korea does not change, it will be difficult to advance the ministry's peace and exchange projects.

Others argued Seoul should pursue narrow cooperation by making use of U.N. Security Council sanctions exemption procedures while continuing to press Washington on financial restrictions.

Lee Ji-sun, head of the Peace and Development Cooperation Center at the Institute for National Security Strategy, said sanctions exemptions are shaped heavily by political considerations among permanent members. She suggested starting with "small deals" that limit scope and scale while continuing efforts to persuade the United States to ease financial sanctions.

- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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