Korea’s G10 Ascent: Former Ambassador Urges New Diplomatic Coordinates

South Korea-U.S. alliance evolving amid a new Cold War era
Diplomacy should not be one-sided but maintain good relations with China, Russia, and others

Former Russian ambassador Wi Sung-lac emphasized, “As our country has risen to the ranks of the G10, our national prestige has increased,” and “it is time we need a ‘Korean-style policy coordinate’ that matches this.” He added, “We should not approach diplomacy from external affairs, administration, diplomatic events, and diplomacy, but approach it from a policy and strategic perspective that suits our current situation, and it is time to bring new thoughts and renaissance from various sectors.”

Born in 1954, the former ambassador graduated from the Department of Diplomacy at Seoul National University. He has been evaluated as a diplomatic expert, serving as a special advisor to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the head of the Korea Peninsula Peace Negotiation Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the Russian ambassador.

Korea should avoid security dilemmas in the new Cold War era through close cooperation with the U.S. and Japan

In a recent interview with this paper, the former ambassador diagnosed the current state of our country’s diplomacy as, “Since the new government came in, close cooperation between Korea, the U.S., and Japan has been ongoing, including strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance and Korea-U.S.-Japan security cooperation.” He added, “The Korea-U.S. alliance is evolving anew in the new Cold War era.”

He also pointed out the tasks that our diplomacy should solve. The former ambassador warned, “As Korea-U.S.-Japan cooperation grows, new security risks have arisen due to the backlash from North Korea, China, and Russia,” and “Especially at times like this, we should not fall into a security dilemma and must cope with it. This is the homework that our country needs to solve.”

The former ambassador highly evaluated the direction of improvement in Korea-Japan relations and suggested a path for progress. He emphasized, “Korea-Japan relations have more complex aspects politically, historically, and legally than other countries. There are various political issues such as forced labor issues, comfort women, and the 1965 Korea-Japan agreement. Depending on how we solve these, public opinion will change.”  

We need to pay attention to improving relations with China and Russia for the security of the Korean peninsula

The former ambassador advised that to cope with the situation where the security of the Korean peninsula is threatened by recent North Korean missile launches, North Korea-Russia military cooperation, and arms trading, we need to maintain a good relationship with China and Russia.

Regarding Korea-China relations, the former ambassador conveyed, “As the U.S.-China confrontation intensifies, we should not distance ourselves from China, but we should have our own coordinates and talk with China.”

The former ambassador also said we should pay attention to recovering Korea-Russia relations. He explained, “At the beginning of the six-party talks, Russia was more faithful than China in terms of international nuclear non-proliferation.”

He added, “Russia is not demanding nuclear non-proliferation as it did before, gradually mentioning geopolitics and cooperating with China due to the U.S.-Russia confrontation, and after the Ukraine war,” and “If relations with the U.S. improve, it is not guaranteed that Russia will maintain its relationship with North Korea as it does now.”

By. Choi Yoon Sun