Wi Sung-lac, head of the Office of National Security, on the 24th addressed the infighting over "control of North Korea policy" within the government's foreign affairs and security team, saying, "I think it is better not to show a confusing image externally." The remark came as U.S.-North Korea talks remain cut off and the long-standing clash in the ruling camp between the self-reliance faction and the alliance faction has intensified into internal strife between the new administration's Office of National Security and the Ministry of Unification.
The Deputy Minister shared with the press corps the results of visits to the United States, Canada and Japan at a briefing at the Blue House Chunchugwan on the day. Asked about internal conflicts within the government's foreign affairs line, the Deputy Minister said, "Anywhere, there can be differing opinions, and there is constructive debate, so it can be a creative process to draw better conclusions. What matters is coordination." The Deputy Minister added, "It is important to coordinate at the NSC, and it is important to proceed as coordinated," and said, "If so, controversy at the starting point will not be a big problem."
The power struggle between the self-reliance faction and the alliance faction is a long-standing conflict structure in the progressive camp that also existed under the Roh Moo-hyun administration. It resurfaced while going through the U.S.-Korea tariff, trade and security negotiations, which were the top task right after the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration. It also surfaced during the live-broadcast ministry work briefings. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs holds that the North Korean issue should be managed based on coordination with the U.S.-Korea alliance, while the Ministry of Unification prefers Korea's lead and a "Ministry of Unification-level" separate agreement with the United States.
The latest U.S. trip was arranged not only to follow up on the joint fact sheet on U.S.-Korea trade, commerce and security agreements but also to discuss North Korea policy. Key discussions were held by sector, including spent nuclear fuel enrichment and reprocessing, nuclear-powered submarine construction and fuel supply. A considerable amount of time is said to have been devoted to discussing the breakdown in talks with North Korea. The Deputy Minister said, "We shared assessments of the current situation in which dialogue with North Korea is cut off and discussed ways to advance U.S.-North Korea and inter-Korean talks," adding, "With various diplomatic schedules in the first half of next year in mind, we consulted on U.S.-Korea policy coordination on North Korea to resume dialogue."
According to a senior official at the presidential office, the U.S. side asked in this meeting a question to the effect of "Which is the Korean government's position?" The Deputy Minister's answer was "coordination through the NSC." It appeared to underscore that NSC decisions take precedence over a security-related ministers' meeting led by the Ministry of Unification. At the briefing that day, the Deputy Minister also repeated answers along the lines of, "We will integrate diverse views through the NSC and present the government's position," and, "Each ministry (the Ministry of Unification) has policies it emphasizes and can propose them, and such proposals are discussed at the NSC," in response to multiple questions about the self-reliance versus alliance faction conflict.
Earlier, the Ministry of Unification did not take part in the U.S.-Korea consultative body on North Korea issues and said it would consult directly with the United States. The ruling Democratic Party of Korea brought a senior figure who had called for a personnel overhaul of the foreign and security team into the party's Korean Peninsula Policy Committee. In this situation, President Lee Jae-myung asked the Ministry of Unification to "take the lead on North Korea policy" and also ordered the push for a ministers' meeting attended by all relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Unification. With the power struggle within the government laid bare, some interpreted this as the president effectively throwing weight behind the self-reliance faction. On this, the Deputy Minister said, "The United States and Japan will be monitoring and receiving reports on our government's situation in full. They know all the discussions taking place."