No one except for Moon rushing for talks with North Korea

President Moon Jae-in presents Pope Francis with a cross made out of barbwire from the Demilitarized Zone separating South and North Korea, during their meeting in Vatican City, Friday (local time). Courtesy of the Vatican

Washington, Pyongyang may wait to see next Seoul administration's move

By Nam Hyun-woo

President Moon Jae-in is making a pitch for his Korean Peninsula peace initiative during his meetings with the pope and global leaders, but he is facing a limit in drawing desirable responses, as those leaders and countries are not feeling the same sense of urgency as Moon, whose presidency will end in May next year, in tackling North Korea issues.

Moon met Pope Francis on Friday and asked him to visit North Korea to facilitate a peace mood in inter-Korean relations. The pope showed a positive response to the offer, saying he is willing to go if he receives an invitation from the North.

"Moon told the pope that his visit to North Korea will become a momentum for peace on the Korean Peninsula and Koreans are pinning high hopes on that," presidential spokeswoman Park Kyung-mee said. "The pope responded that if he receives an invitation from the North, he will visit to help Koreans and for peace."

Despite the amicable rhetoric, Cheong Wa Dae did not elaborate whether Moon and the pope exchanged further details such as pre-communication between Seoul and Pyongyang on the potential papal visit or the North's intention to invite the worldwide leader of the Catholic Church.

ANALYSISSemiconductors: Moon's leverage at G20 sideline 2021-10-31 16:53  |  Tech
Due to this, critics said last week's meeting had no tangible progress from September 2018, when Moon suggested the papal visit to the North and its leader Kim Jong-un showed a positive response. In the following month during his first meeting with the pope, Moon talked about the issue and the pope made the same response at the time ― he would go if Kim invites him. However, the North has yet to send any invitation to the Vatican.

The Vatican issued a press release on Moon's meeting with the pope mentioning the two shared hopes for peace on the Korean Peninsula, but it made no mention of the offer for the papal visit to Pyongyang, which was contradicting to Cheong Wa Dae's promotion on the pope's intention to visit the North. When asked about any tangible progress since 2018, a Cheong Wa Dae official said, "It was meaningful to reaffirm the pope's intention to visit North Korea."

Since the Vatican's diplomatic protocol requires a country's invitation for a papal trip, Pope Francis' visit to North Korea largely hinges on Kim's decision. However, the current inter-Korean relations are trapped in a stalemate, with the North firing new missiles despite Moon's proposal to officially end the Korean War.

Against this backdrop, time is running out for Moon. South Korea will enter election mode early next year and hold a presidential election in March, thus both the U.S. and North Korea are taking time to address Moon's proposal, apparently considering the possibility of South Korea's shift in North Korea policy with the changing of administrations.

President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with U.S. President Joe Biden during their encounter on the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rome, Saturday (local time). Yonhap

The situation was similar with Moon's brief meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday. On the sidelines of the G20 Summit in Rome, Moon explained his conversation with Pope Francis.

According to Park, Biden welcomed the exchange between Moon and the pope as good news and praised Moon for making progress in bringing peace on the Korean Peninsula.

While Park introduced the conversation to Korean news outlets, the U.S., however, did not release a press statement or other type of media notice.

This came amid reports that Seoul and Washington may have "different perspectives" on Moon's proposal for an end-of-war declaration. While South Korea's presidential office is striving to drum up Moon's proposal, opposition opinions are also growing in the U.S., citing the North's continued violation of U.N. resolutions with its missile program.

Last week, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said Tuesday that the allies "may have somewhat different perspectives on the precise sequence or timing or conditions for different steps" regarding the resumption of talks with Pyongyang.

"The fundamental problem is that Moon's presidency will end soon. While the Moon government is in a rush to make tangible progress within Moon's presidency, other parties, including the U.S., are not," said Shin Beom-chul, director of the Center for Diplomacy and Security at the Korea Research Institute for National Strategy. "As Korea and the U.S. are engaging the North Korea issue at different speeds, there are differences between the two countries. This is why Moon and Biden are not having a summit or official meeting."