[President Yoon Seok-yeol Elected] The Core of Yoon's Diplomatic and Security Policy is 'Close Korea-US Alliance'

President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol is walking to pay respects at the National Seoul Memorial Cemetery in Dongjak-gu, Seoul on the 10th. Photo by Yoon Dong-ju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Inho Yoo and Jieun Lee] With Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party’s presidential candidate, winning the election, foreign policy is expected to focus heavily on strengthening the South Korea-US alliance. Amid rapidly changing international circumstances following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the next administration’s foreign and security policies are increasingly crucial. President-elect Yoon is highly likely to pursue improvements in foreign relations with China, Japan, and Russia through close cooperation with the US.

However, regarding North Korea, he is expected to take a tougher stance compared to the current administration. President-elect Yoon has already held a phone call with US President Joe Biden, and their first face-to-face meeting is anticipated around the end of May, shortly after taking office.

◆ Strengthening the South Korea-US Alliance = The cornerstone of Yoon’s diplomatic and security policy on the Korean Peninsula is undoubtedly the reinforcement of the South Korea-US alliance. He plans to promote a comprehensive strategic alliance with the US and actively participate in the US-led reorganization of the international order to take the lead on Korean Peninsula issues.

Accordingly, it is expected that the relationship between the new government and the Biden administration will become even closer. Since there were reportedly communication gaps between South Korea and the US regarding sanctions on Russia, restoring trust between the allies is an urgent issue.

President-elect Yoon emphasizes designing the future vision of the Asia-Pacific region and the global order together with the US based on the values of liberal democracy. This aligns with the Biden administration’s philosophy of uniting democratic countries to counter authoritarian states represented by China and Russia.

The overall blueprint for relations with the US is expected to be unveiled at the South Korea-US summit scheduled around President Biden’s visit to Korea at the end of May.

President Biden is planning his first visit to South Korea during his trip to Japan to attend the QUAD summit, a consultative body among the US, Australia, Japan, and India aimed at countering China. It is widely anticipated that the new government’s policy directions will be brought to the forefront during this occasion.

On the other hand, South Korea-China relations are expected to be challenging. The new government’s announced measures to strengthen the South Korea-US alliance are perceived by China as South Korea joining the US’s pressure campaign against China.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

◆ Tough Stance on North Korean Nuclear Issue... Cooling Inter-Korean Relations = President-elect Yoon maintains the principle of complete and verifiable denuclearization. Accordingly, he intends to pursue consistent denuclearization negotiations with North Korea and maintain international sanctions against North Korea until complete denuclearization is achieved. This stance aligns with the Biden administration’s approach, which emphasizes resolving issues through dialogue and diplomacy while maintaining sanctions for violations of international law.

It is noteworthy that President-elect Yoon has proposed establishing South Korea-North Korea-US liaison offices in Panmunjom or Washington D.C. to institutionalize a trilateral dialogue channel. Since these liaison offices are premised on a reconciliation atmosphere through dialogue with North Korea, how the Biden administration and the new government will coordinate to realize dialogue with North Korea is expected to become a key issue.

Kim Sung-han, former Vice Foreign Minister and head of the foreign and security division of Yoon’s campaign, stated, “We will make North Korea predictable through establishing a permanent dialogue channel via the South Korea-North Korea-US liaison offices and a denuclearization roadmap. However, we will set a roadmap for the incentives and rewards at each stage, specifying what denuclearization measures North Korea will take and through which steps denuclearization will be achieved.”

Experts predict that inter-Korean relations will cool further over the next five years. Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said, “President-elect Yoon’s position is that North Korea must take denuclearization measures first before economic cooperation between the two Koreas can proceed. This can be seen as a revival of the Lee Myung-bak administration’s ‘Denuclearization and Openness 3000’ initiative, and it will take considerable time to normalize inter-Korean relations.”