Ex-top security adviser says S. Korea should persuade China to 'delink' N.K. issue from U.S.-China rivalry

▲ Former National Security Adviser Kim Sung-han speaks during a forum on the South Korea-U.S. alliance at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy in Seoul on Nov. 17, 2023, in this photo provided by the institute. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

▲ U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg speaks during a forum on the South Korea-U.S. alliance at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy in Seoul, on Nov. 17, 2023, in this photo provided by the institute. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)

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Ex-top security adviser says S. Korea should persuade China to 'delink' N.K. issue from U.S.-China rivalry

SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and the United States should seek ways to convince China to separate the North Korean nuclear issue from the intensifying strategic competition between Washington and Beijing, a former top security aide said Friday.

Kim Sung-han, who served as the first national security adviser under the Yoon Suk Yeol government until March, made the point at a forum, noting the U.S.-China rivalry has made it "even harder" to put pressure on the North.

"This means the ROK and the United States should find a way to persuade China to delink the North Korean nuclear issue from the U.S.-China strategic competition," Kim said during a forum hosted by the Korea National Diplomatic Academy. ROK stands for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.

The allies, together with other like-minded countries, should otherwise come up with "more sophisticated ways" to put pressure on North Korea without relying on China, he added.

Stressing that China and Russia are refusing to adopt the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, he said the U.S.-China competition will serve as a "turning point that constitutes an important variable for now and the future of the ROK-U.S. alliance."

U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Philip Goldberg echoed Kim's concerns on the North Korean nuclear issue, saying Pyongyang is continuing to develop its nuclear programs in full violation of the UNSC resolutions and recently stepping up military cooperation with Russia.

"The Kim (Jong-un) regime now looks to partner with Russia to vastly modernize its entire arsenal," the envoy said. "That's unsettling to say the least and requires our networks of alliances and to express the shared values that I mentioned here in this region, first to deter potential aggression and second to work toward denuclearizing the peninsula."

Goldberg called for alliances and partner networks in the region to help "calm dangerous situations" and to persuade countries to abide by international law.

He also stressed South Korea's growing influence in the international community, saying it is "now a big fish" rather than a shrimp caught between two whales, referring to the U.S. and China.

"I like to say Korea is now a big fish and plays a big role in the world, and can play a big role and it's taking up that challenge," he said.

He also emphasized that the mutual interests of the allies will not be "diminished" at all by other pending security issues, such as the Israel-Hamas conflict.

"(The U.S.) can handle multiple crises at the same time, in the midst of the crisis in the Middle East and the war in Ukraine," he said.

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