Lee assigns Unification Ministry NK role, urges economic diplomacy

Dec. 19 (Asia Today) -- President Lee Jae-myung on Friday told the Unification Ministry to take the lead in easing inter-Korean hostility and cultivating trust with North Korea, while urging the Foreign Ministry to play a stronger role in advancing South Korea's economic interests overseas.

"Shouldn't we exert our utmost efforts with patience, proactively and leading the way, to ease hostilities between the North and South and foster even the slightest sprout of trust? That is the role the Ministry of Unification must play," Lee said.

Addressing the Foreign Ministry, Lee said intensifying global competition has elevated the role of diplomacy in economic strategy.

"International competition in the economic sphere has intensified recently," he said. "I believe diplomacy ultimately plays a major role in expanding economic territory."

Related

• Why South Korea must not restrict information about the North
• Hana Financial to inject $100 million into U.S. unit
• USFK commander says DMZ should not become 'politicized,' amid bill to ease access

Lee's remarks came as officials and political observers have pointed to signs of friction between the Foreign Ministry and the Unification Ministry over who should lead North Korea policy. Lee was seen as clarifying each ministry's responsibilities and signaling how the government will coordinate the issue.

Speaking during a joint work report by the Foreign Ministry and the Unification Ministry at the Government Complex Seoul, Lee cited what he described as an unprecedented buildup along the inter-Korean boundary.

"It is the first time since the 1950s war that North Korea, perhaps worried the South might invade, has erected triple fences along the entire demarcation line, severed bridges, cut roads and built retaining walls," he said. "Regrettably, it appears this was done out of political ambition."

Lee reiterated that Seoul should seek any possible opening for engagement despite Pyongyang's refusal to interact.

"As I've said before, we must find even the smallest opening," he said. "We need to communicate, dialogue, cooperate and pursue a path of coexistence and mutual prosperity between the North and South. But right now, there isn't even a needle's eye of an opening. It's clearly not easy. It's truly not easy."

He also appeared to criticize the previous administration's approach, saying, "You could call it a kind of karma." If that had been a strategy, he added, "then we must change it," again emphasizing the Unification Ministry's role.

Lee told the Foreign Ministry that diplomacy has also become central to security and peace.

"It seems even the international economic order now relies heavily on diplomacy," he said. "The same applies to security issues. Peace is the most certain security policy, yet even peace is most significantly influenced by diplomacy."

He instructed overseas missions to act as the "bridgehead and vanguard" for cultural outreach and what he called expansion of economic territory.

- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.