President Moon: "The Best Security Policy Over Nuclear Weapons Is Inter-Korean Cooperation"

"Stronger Inter-Korean Cooperation Strengthens Each Side's Security"
Emphasizing Health and Medical Cooperation... "North and South Are a Community of Life and Safety"
Kim Jong-un's Threat: "Do Not Accept External Support"... North's Response Uncertain

President Moon Jae-in delivers a congratulatory speech at the 75th Liberation Day celebration held at Dongdaemun Design Plaza in Seoul on the morning of the 15th.

President Moon Jae-in on the 15th stated that inter-Korean cooperation is the best security policy, surpassing nuclear weapons or military power, emphasizing the necessity of cooperation in health, medical care, agriculture, and railway connections.

In his 75th Liberation Day commemorative speech, President Moon said, "The stronger the cooperation between the South and the North becomes, the more solid the security of both South and North will be, and this will become a force that can lead to prosperity through cooperation with the international community."

In the speech, the term 'South-North' was used eight times, while the word 'North Korea' did not appear at all. This contrasts with last year’s speech, where 'North Korea' appeared nine times and 'South-North' was mentioned five times.

Although the amount of messages directed toward the North decreased compared to last year’s speech, President Moon specifically mentioned urgent health and medical issues faced by both sides and called for a response from the North.

President Moon said, "We have responded to livestock epidemics and COVID-19, experienced unprecedented heavy rains caused by abnormal weather, and realized that individual health and safety are closely connected to each other. We have repeatedly confirmed that the South and the North are a community of life and safety."

He added, "I hope that through quarantine cooperation and joint management of shared rivers, the people of South and North will tangibly feel the benefits of peace. Through joint research on health care, forestry cooperation, agricultural technology, and breed development, we will cooperate more closely in the new security situation of the COVID era, opening the way for coexistence and peace to form a community of life along with a peace community and an economic community."

President Moon emphasized, "Along with humanitarian cooperation for the life and safety of the people, practical inter-Korean cooperation means cooperating so that people can meet those they want to meet before they die and visit places they want to go."

He further stated, "Inter-Korean cooperation is the best security policy for both South and North to break free from dependence on nuclear weapons or military power. As agreed in the Panmunjom Declaration, we will permanently eliminate the threat of war and lay the foundation for true liberation dreamed of by our ancestors."

Additionally, President Moon reaffirmed his commitment to connecting railways between South and North Korea. He said, "The railway connection, for which South and North have conducted joint surveys and held groundbreaking ceremonies, is a key driving force to expand future inter-Korean cooperation to the continent," emphasizing, "We will check and implement each agreed item and move toward a 'peaceful and jointly prosperous Korean Peninsula.'"

This proposal is interpreted as considering the recent conditions favorable for active discussions on inter-Korean quarantine cooperation due to COVID-19 and African Swine Fever (ASF), as well as the need for joint management of shared rivers raised by continuous heavy rains.

However, it is uncertain whether this proposal will elicit a positive response from the North. North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un, at the Workers' Party Political Bureau meeting on the 13th, discussed flood recovery measures and stated, "Do not accept any external support." Despite revealing the severe damage situation, he clearly expressed the position of not accepting external aid.

Professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies predicted, "North Korea may agree on the necessity of inter-Korean cooperation, but given the current focus on domestic affairs such as overcoming COVID-19 and floods, it is unlikely to respond positively to inter-Korean cooperation immediately."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, North Korea issued a statement the day after President Moon’s Liberation Day speech last year, harshly criticizing the speech by saying, "It is laughable enough to make even a fool laugh out loud (Yangcheon Daeso: looking up at the sky and laughing heartily)."

At that time, the statement, issued in the name of a spokesperson for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, said, "There is a saying, 'A great commotion over a small matter' (Taesan Myeongdong Seo Ilpil). This can be said about the South Korean authorities’ (referring to President Moon Jae-in) 'Liberation Day speech.'"

The spokesperson added, "We will see in time, but we have nothing more to say to the South Korean authorities and have no intention of sitting down together again."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.