6.30 ROK-US Summit and 3-Party Meeting at Panmunjom

[Current Issues and Policies 2019-14]

Dr. Lee Daewoo

Director of the Department of Security Strategy Studies,

the Sejong Institute

delee@sejong.org

On June 30, 2019, President Moon Jae-in and President Donald Trump's 8th ROK-U.S. Summit was held in Seoul. In the afternoon of the same day, 3-Party Meeting among South Korea, North Korea, and the U.S. and another DPRK-U.S. summit was held at Panmunjom. Although people paid more attention to the DPRK-U.S. summit that might happen than the preceding ROK-U.S. summit, the ROK-U.S. summit is also significant since negotiations for North Korea’s denuclearization cannot succeed without the support of strong ROK-U.S. alliance.

Regarding the security of the Korean Peninsula, the two leaders evaluated 2019 as “more stable” compared to 2017 and pledged to achieve Final Fully Verifiable Denuclearization (FFVD) of North Korea through close policy coordination and to fully implement the U.N. resolution on sanctions against the North. In addition, they reaffirmed solid ROK-U.S. alliance by using expressions, such as "linchpin" of peace and security of the Indo-Pacific region, "ironclad alliance" and "unbreakable bond." And the two leaders agreed to strengthen their coordination by enhancing ROK-U.S. alliance to the level of comprehensive strategic alliance in order to solve major global problems (prosperity of the Mekong River Basin and stability of the Middle East).

Meanwhile, the South Korean government has taken several tasks from this summit. First, the government needs to complete thorough preparations for the next round of defense cost-sharing talks, as the U.S. will continue to demand fair trade and increase in defense spending at least during Trump's presidency. Second, with regard to enhancing trilateral cooperation among South Korea, the U.S., and Japan, which was one of the agenda of the summit, the improvement of Seoul-Tokyo relations has emerged as a major task for the South Korean government. Third, South Korea should reexamine its role in the resumption of the DPRK-U.S talks. Since the U.S. stated its position as a "flexible approach," South Korea should persuade Pyongyang to come up with symbolic measures upon accepting "Yongbyon+α.”