South Korea has decided to indefinitely suspend the joint industrial complex in Gaeseong of North Korea, demonstrating its resolve to lead international efforts to punish the communist country for its latest nuclear and missile provocations.
Unification Minister Hong Yong-pyo announced the stunning move in a news briefing Wednesday, saying that it was intended to prevent South Korean money from being funneled into the North’s nuclear weapons and missile development programs.
The unilateral action represents a watershed in South Korea’s policy toward the North. The Seoul government has thus far made sincere efforts toward inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation. But Pyongyang has abused them in upgrading its nuclear and missile technologies. Now, Seoul will likely direct its efforts toward forcing the North to realize that its shaky regime cannot survive unless it gives up its nuclear ambitions.
Halting the complex is a painful decision for the Seoul government, not only because it will cripple the South Korean companies operating there, but because the complex is the only remaining symbol of inter-Korean economic cooperation.
The industrial complex, which went into operation in 2004, accommodates a total of 124 South Korean companies, mostly producers of labor-intensive goods. They employ more than 54,000 North Korean workers.
Since its establishment, the complex has experienced many crises. Every time tension heightened on the Korean Peninsula, the North threatened to pull the plug on the inter-Korean cooperation project.
Yet the Seoul government has done its utmost to keep the industrial park running, in the hope that it would be used as a foundation for increased economic cooperation when cross-border relations improved.
Now, President Park Geun-hye appears to have abandoned that hope, as she has realized that the motives behind the North’s provocations have changed.
In the past, Pyongyang used to conduct provocations in the course of denuclearization talks, seeking to gain political and economic concessions from Washington and Seoul.
But the North’s young leader uses nuclear and missile provocations as a means of ensuring the survival of his shaky regime. Through these provocations, he seeks to solidify internal unity and strengthen his grip on power.
This implies that he will carry out additional nuclear tests and missile launches, while at the same time continuing his reign of terror, in order to consolidate his regime.
The first thing to do to prevent additional provocations is to put the North in a financial chokehold by cutting off its cash flows. It is in this context that Park decided to shut down the Gaeseong complex, which serves as a cash cow for the impoverished regime.
The North Korean workers at the complex earn more than $100 million in annual income, providing a substantial amount of hard currency that Pyongyang can use to purchase equipment and materials necessary to advance its nuclear and missile technologies.
The suspension of the industrial park would not deplete the North’s funds for these purposes, but will nevertheless make a dent in funding for future provocations.
Seoul’s decision is also intended to step up pressure on the members of the U.N. Security Council to develop tougher sanctions on the North for its nuclear and missile provocations.
The Security Council has been struggling to forge a unified response to the rogue state’s flagrant violations of its multiple resolutions. Washington is pushing to impose unprecedentedly strong sanctions against it, but China is standing firm against such a move.
South Korea has been urging China and Russia to join the global community in forcing the North to face the consequences of its reckless provocations.
Yet Seoul’s call for tougher sanctions has failed to resonate with these countries, as it was not accompanied by any corresponding measure on the part of the South Korean government itself.
Now, by unilaterally suspending the industrial complex, the Seoul government has shown its determination to make the North realize that it has to pay a high price for its unwarranted provocations.
Whether Seoul’s resolute move will have any bearing on China remains to be seen. But Beijing needs to realize that it will also have to pay a price for tolerating the North’s nuclear and missile gambles.
As has been announced, Seoul and Washington have agreed to start negotiations on the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea.
Seoul has been cautious about THAAD deployment, as China regards it as a threat to its own national security. But Beijing should understand that North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats have reached a point where South Korea cannot defend itself without THAAD.
As Seoul is ready to step up pressure on the North to scrap its nuclear program, tension is bound to escalate on the Korean Peninsula. Beijing is acutely aware that this will harm its own interests. To turn the tide, it should rein in the recalcitrant Pyongyang regime by exercising its leverage on it.
By Yu Kyun-ha
Yu Kun-ha is the editor-in-chief of The Korea Herald. He can be reached at khyu@heraldcorp.com. — Ed.
