German President Joachim Gauck, on his
state visit to South Korea, held summit talks on Monday with South Korean
President Park Geun Hye, during which the two leaders agreed to cooperate on
the fronts of Pyongyang’s denuclearization and improving human rights in the
North.
The two heads of state held a joint press
conference after talks at the presidential office of Cheong Wa Dae, where they
shared their commitment to North Korea’s denuclearization and having it assume
responsibilities as a member of the international community.
“The situations of Germany and the Korean
Peninsula are different, and their ways of unification will be different,”
President Park said during the conference. “But by learning about the process
of integration that Germany went through after unification we are drawing out
lessons to be learned.”
She went on to note that Germany went
through a gradual stage of trust building through exchanges and cooperation,
and that West Germany played an important role in winning over support from
neighboring countries through proactive diplomatic efforts.
President Gauck expressed his support for
the South Korean leader’s ‘trust-building process on the Korean Peninsula’ and
said he welcomed her foreign policy paradigms.
In a separate speech that he delivered at
the National Assembly, Gauck said, “The trust-building process is the same
policy that brought blessed results to Germany.” He added, “Trust and dialogue
are key to peaceful change and understanding, and it is important to always
keep that in mind however far the goal may appear to be.”
The president explained that there were
efforts to implement a detente policy by approaching the communist party (in
the East) through methods cultivated in the gradual transformation of the former Soviet Union, and that was all part
of the process to keep the channels of dialogue open.
Gauck also strongly criticized the North’s
track record of human rights violations.
“It is terrible to think that Kim Jong Un
still considers nuclear armament a greater priority than providing food for his
people and developing the economy,” the president said. He urged the South and
all other partner countries to continually put forward alternative methods that
will help introduce change in Pyongyang’s policies with an approach of
understanding.
