Can Biden and Moon form a united front on North Korea amid policy frictions?
- The US leader and his South Korean counterpart face challenges in developing a joint strategy on the North because of differing priorities, analysts said
- While Moon pushes rapprochement with Kim Jong-un, Biden is expected to take a more hawkish view
But that could prove to be a challenge due to major differences in priorities and outlook between Washington and Seoul, according to analysts, even as the two sides publicly stress their common vision and the enduring strength of their seven-decade alliance.
Moon‘s staff and his foreign minister are intelligent enough to understand that Biden’s support for the conciliatory policy is essential
Moon, the son of North Korean refugees, has staked his legacy on rapprochement with the North, pushing diplomacy and economic cooperation as key to the eventual reunification of the Korean peninsula, which was divided in the aftermath of World War II.
But with just 15 months left in his single five-year term, Moon’s inter-Korean reconciliation efforts have stalled since the collapse of Trump’s second meeting with Kim in Vietnam in 2019.
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In June, Pyongyang blew up an inter-Korean liaison office that had stood as one of the few remaining symbols of Moon’s outreach to the North, which is officially known as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).