SEOUL FORGES TIES WITH HAVANA AMID IMPASSE WITH PYONGYANG

한-쿠바 수교 등 외교 현안 정리 Hello and welcome to Tuesday’s edition of Issues and Insiders. I’m Min Sunhee. South Korea has established diplomatic ties with longtime North Korean ally Cuba and for more on this recent event I have Professor Kim Hyun-wook from the Korea National Diplomatic Academy here in the studio. Professor Kim it’s great to have you here. I also have Mr. Evans Revere at Brookings Institution live on the line. Mr. Revere it’s been a while. Welcome back. 1) Professor Kim, first then, what do you believe is the significance of Seoul seeking formal ties with Havana? 2) Mr. Revere, I understand that your first assignment in Washington as a young diplomat was at the Latin American Affairs Bureau. What are your thoughts regarding South Korea’s diplomatic engagement with Cuba? 3) Professor Kim, some claim South Korea’s courting of Cuba is aimed at ruffling North Korea’s feathers. What are your thoughts? 4) And Mr. Revere, what do you believe has been the impact of this advance in diplomacy by South Korea on North Korea? Some believe it probably shocked the regime. Do you agree? 5) Mr. Revere, a day after Seoul announced its forging of diplomatic relations with Havana, North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong floated prospects of progress in ties with Tokyo. Is such progress possible especially amid their impasse on the issue of abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 80s? 6) Professor Kim, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has been quite vocal about his will to meet with his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-un. In fact, according to the latest Japanese media reports, Prime Minister Kishida may travel to Seoul next month for related talks. Do you suppose these efforts may serve to create fresh momentum for constructive communication on the peninsula? 7) Mr. Revere, President Yoon Suk Yeol, for his part, has also addressed the possibility of talks with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un through a bottom-up approach. Where do you stand on the debate over the bottom-up or top-down strategy? 8) Professor Kim, under a former Trump administration, the U.S. opted for a top-down approach with regard to North Korea-related matters. Do you envision a similar strategy should Mr. Donald Trump return to the White House? And if so, what look to be the broader implications of such an initiative? 9) And Mr. Revere, do you envision a radical shift in U.S. diplomacy under a possible Trump leadership, and if so, how can South Korea seek to ensure regional stability amid North Korea’s rampant threats? 10) Professor Kim, moving forward, President Yoon Suk Yeol recently postponed his planned trip to Germany and Denmark which was scheduled to start this past Sunday. Some critics believe this was a diplomatic faux pas. What do you believe? 11) Mr. Revere, again speaking as a seasoned observer, what do you believe are some of the more urgent diplomatic matters for South Korea this particular year? All right. #SouthKorea #Cuba #NorthKorea #Diplomatic_relation #대한민국 #쿠바 #북한 #외교 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스 📣 Facebook : 📣 Twitter : 📣 Homepage : 2024-02-20, 14:30 (KST)