President Lee Myung Bak tapped current ambassador to China Kim Ha Joong as his new candidate to head the Ministry of Unification, a post that over the past 10 years had gone to North Korea experts and former professors.
Kim Ha Joong joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 1973 and served various roles within the ministry, including posts in Japan and India.
He served as presidential ceremonial secretary just prior to the Kim Dae Jung administration. From October 2001 till the present, he has been ambassador to China–a term lasting 6 years and 5 months.
Kim faces some resistance from conservatives because of the roles he played during the Kim Dae Jung and Noh Moo Hyun administrations, but his career experience and expertise are matched by none.
Kim’s selection as minister is closely related to President Lee Myung Bak’s North Korea policy, which calls for strengthening relations with the U.S., Russia, Japan and China. In keeping with such a policy, Kim is well qualified to be minister of unification.
President Lee has repeatedly stated his intent to make pragmatism, as opposed to ideology, the focus of his policies. On March 1st, the anniversary of the beginning of the Korean independence movement, Lee declared “issues related to South-North relations” to be “national issues as well as diplomatic problems.”
Presidential office spokesperson Lee Dong Gwan further justified the selection of Kim Ha Joong to reporters: “He is a real expert on China and has shown his distinguished ability on several current issues related to the North Korean nuclear issue, defectors’ problems and conflicts in Korean history.”
Some predict that Kim, being well-versed in all things China, might be able to resolve the current stalemate in the Six Party Talks by using his personal networks.
“He is the closest diplomatic affiliate to the North Korean nuclear issue,” Soe Jae Jin, a researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, told the Daily NK.
“Kim could effectively balance diplomatic relations while President Lee emphasizes the alliance with the U.S.,” predicted Soe.
Kim Geun Shik, a professor at Kyungnam University, added: “It is fortunate that Kim has developed many North Korea-related connections in China during his 6-year-long career as ambassador.”
However, he warned, “I am just concerned that he may overlook the nationalistic peculiarities of North-South relations.”
