U.S. envoy's comments suggest discord with South Korea over approach to North

U.S. President Donald Trump, right, and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, are seen during their meeting at the Sofitel Legend Metropole hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on Feb. 28, 2019. [YONHAP]

 
Washington recently emphasized the need to maintain sanctions against Pyongyang and proposed holding regular meetings with Seoul’s foreign and security officials to ensure aligned messaging, according to diplomatic sources on Monday.
 
The suggestion comes as members of the South Korean government and ruling bloc continue to promote conciliatory policies toward North Korea amid strained inter-Korean relations — a signal that the United States may be urging the South to slow down.
 

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Multiple sources confirmed Monday that Kevin Kim, chargé d’affaires ad interim at the U.S. Embassy in Seoul, raised the proposal during a meeting with Unification Minister Chung Dong-young on Nov. 25.
 
“The U.S. side expressed concern that with U.S. President Donald Trump renewing calls for dialogue with North Korea, mixed signals could cause unnecessary confusion,” one source said. “They requested coordinated messaging.”
 
Diplomatic observers noted the emphasis on “coordinated messaging,” which they interpret as an indication that there are currently differences in tone between the U.S. and South Korea’s approaches to North Korea.
 
Some have speculated that Kim’s remarks, which stressed the importance of maintaining sanctions and raising human rights issues, may have been intended as a subtle warning: that because such topics are critical tools for leverage in negotiations, the United States may be uneasy about Seoul broaching them too soon to draw Pyongyang back to the table. In fact, Seoul and Washington had experienced friction over sanctions policy during Trump’s first term.
 

Print editions of TIME magazine with an interview with President Lee Jae Myung on the cover are seen in this photo provided by the presidential office on Sept. 18. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]

 
President Lee Jae Myung, in an interview with foreign media in September, supported a phased easing of sanctions, saying that the South could offer “partial compensation” for North Korea’s steps to halt nuclear development. He added that he supports negotiations that would trade gradual sanctions relief or lifting in exchange for freezing, reducing and ultimately dismantling North Korea’s weapons programs.
 
Trump has mentioned sanctions only once during his second term. On a flight to Japan on Oct. 27, when asked what he would offer to encourage dialogue, Trump simply said, “Well, we have sanctions. That’s pretty big to start off with. I would say that’s about as big as you get.”
 
The fact that Kevin Kim brought up sanctions and stressed messaging coordination directly in his meeting with Chung is notable. While such comments may appear to be standard diplomatic language, Chung is not in charge of sanctions — and he has been the most vocal member of the Cabinet in promoting engagement with the North, including calling publicly for the postponement of joint military drills.
 
In July, Chung told lawmakers that the North Korea–Russia alliance had effectively nullified UN sanctions and argued that “if sanctions inflict pain and negative consequences on the North Korean people from a humanitarian perspective, then they are not achieving their intended purpose.”
 

Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young speaks during a forum at Westin Josun Seoul hotel in Jung District, central Seoul, on Nov. 25. [YONHAP]

 
Just hours before meeting with Kim, Chung said at a public event, “The nature of the Korean Peninsula issue means it cannot be solved through bureaucratic thinking that waits for U.S. approval and authorization.” He emphasized the importance of the “right to self-determination” in inter-Korean policies.
 
National Security Office Director Wi Sung-lac also said during a press briefing on Sunday marking six months of the Lee administration, “There are several options for promoting denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, but we are not currently considering [canceling or reducing] joint South Korea–U.S. military exercises as one of them.”  
 
His comments appeared to be in line with the United States' cautious stance.
 
After his meeting with First Vice Foreign Minister Park Yoon-joo on Monday, Kim told reporters that he and Chung had agreed that "tight coordination" between South Korea and the United States is important.
 

National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac speaks during a press conference on the first six months of the Lee Jae Myung administration at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, on Dec. 7. [NEWS1]

 
Though not prompted by any reporter, Kim brought up his meeting with the unification minister while at the Foreign Ministry — a move seen as somewhat unusual.
 
He also quoted Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back as saying, “Military exercises are the lifeblood of the military,” adding that Ahn “reiterated the importance of cooperating on joint military drills.”
 
Kim had previously met with Ahn on Nov. 21 to discuss regional security on the Korean Peninsula and the future of the U.S.–South Korea alliance. He also reiterated that both countries’ leaders remain committed to “the complete denuclearization of North Korea,” possibly in response to recent criticism that the U.S. national security strategy did not mention the North.


This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY CHUNG YEONG-GYO,SHIM SEOK-YONG [lim.jeongwon@joongang.co.kr]