Currently, the eyes of the world are fixed on the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders’ meeting in San Francisco. The global trade summit, slated for Nov. 15-17, will draw world leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden, Chinese President Xi Jinping and President Yoon Suk Yeol. Most of the leaders from the 21 APEC member countries will attend the summit. It will be presided over by Biden. Diverse bilateral meetings will also take place on the sidelines of the event.
The summit will offer a precious opportunity for Yoon, in particular, who is poised to discuss ways to cement trilateral cooperative ties with Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. Yoon is also set to take part in the Indo Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) summit, led by the U.S., to focus on ways to diversify global supply channels. There is the possibility of a summit between Yoon and Xi. The envisaged meeting has drawn growing attention due to the prospects of achieving a breakthrough in stalled relations between Seoul and Beijing.
Yoon has been pressed to properly utilize the APEC gathering, which comes at a time of strengthening relations between North Korea and Russia. Pyongyang is allegedly ready to offer conventional weapons to Moscow in return for obtaining state-of-the-art military technology. This will facilitate the North’s bid to heighten its prowess in weapons of mass destruction, such as nuclear missiles and surveillance satellites, thus intensifying tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
With the apparent advent of a “New Cold War” era, there is a growing possibility of multiple military conflicts in addition to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and Israel-Hamas war, prompting China and North Korea to consider armed confrontations in their respective regions. Should such ominous scenarios materialize, the military and diplomatic postures of the U.S. could weaken, thus enticing Pyongyang to resort to military provocations.
Against this backdrop, it is encouraging that the defense chiefs of South Korea and the U.S. agreed on Monday to share the U.S.’ strategic early warning system (SEWS) data to promptly detect the military and missile activities of the North. South Korea’s Defense Minister Shin Won-sik and U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin reached that agreement during the 55th Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) held in Seoul. In a separate trilateral meeting, they also agreed with their Japanese counterpart Minoru Kihara to carry out pre-planned three-way military drills from next year to more effectively cope with possible threats from outside.
South Korea also needs to upgrade its economic cooperation with the U.S. to enhance the competitiveness of domestic enterprises amid escalating global hegemonic rivalry. The U.S. has been fortifying restrictions on Chinese high-tech industries like batteries and semiconductors, triggering concerns over possible adverse impacts on Korean businesses. Yoon should roll up his sleeves to persuade the Biden administration to stand on our side.
In line with this, the Yoon administration should conduct pragmatic diplomacy so that relations with China can proceed toward mutual respect and benefits. China is South Korea's largest trade partner and is the only state that can exercise influence on North Korea. The Yoon government should cast off the yoke of the previous Moon Jae-in administration’s subservient diplomacy toward China and turn the bilateral ties onto a normal track. For starters, efforts should be focused on realizing Xi’s visit to Seoul.
Should the summit occur, it will be the second meeting between Yoon and Xi since they met on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Bali in November last year.
A possible successful summit between Biden and Xi will also pave the way for the South to mend its ties with China. And the two countries will be able to find common ground on mutual prosperity through enhanced economic cooperation and find breakthroughs concerning the deadlocked issue of North Korea’s buildup of nuclear capabilities. Proactive and strategic diplomatic activities are needed to effectively tackle the major diplomatic events surrounding APEC.
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