Policy Forum

The Putin government of Russia is enlarging its presence in international affairs by intervening in the Syrian civil war and the negotiation process to end the war, and by performing a leading role in the negotiations on Iran’s nuclear arms, after its annexation of Crimean peninsula in March, 2014. Russia has as its top priority the lifting of sanctions by the U.S. and the West on itself, while dealing with the North Korean nuclear and missile issues using its ties with the U.S. and China. After the inauguration of the Trump administration in January, 2017, attention was being paid to the future course of the U.S.-Russia relations which had been acutely worsened during the Obama administration. Along with the U.S.-China relations, the U.S.-Russia ties are the pivot of the world political and economic order and also serve as a barometer of the regional security in East Asia. The key agendas of the U.S.-Russia relations in the early days of the Trump administration were the Trump administration’s posture toward Russia; the personal ties of Trump and Putin; the hacking scandal involving the alleged Russian interference in the U.S. presidential election and its consequences on their ties; growing mistrust in each other; coexistence of the factors for cooperation and conflict; the hardline policy of the U.S. Congress toward Russia; tit-for-tat expulsion of diplomats; and Syrian civil war and the North Korean nuclear crisis. As regards the North Korean nuclear issue, the Putin government is seen as maintaining the position ① not to allow North Korea to possess nuclear arms ② to support the denuclearization of Korean peninsula ③ to oppose military action against North Korea and call for diplomatic solutions to the issue ④ demand unconditional reopening of the six-party talks and ⑤ agree with the measure to improve ties with the North to persuade its abandonment of nuclear arms.

Noteworthy is the more active move of the Putin government, deviating from the standoffish stance, to get itself involved in the North Korean nuclear and missile issues. It is important for Seoul to substantiate its strategic partnership with Russia to tide over the complicated security crisis on the peninsula. First, the two countries need to secure common grounds and cooperate with each other, with a mind to not tolerate the nuclear threats of North Korea, denuclearize the peninsula and seek peaceful and diplomatic solutions. At the same time, Seoul is required to make efforts to utilize the intermediary role of Russia over the nuclear issue; take measures to follow up on the ROK-Russia summit meeting in Vladivostok; decouple the ROK-Russia relations from the U.S.-Russia ones; take note of the reorganization of the U.S.-China-Russia ties and activate the 1.5 track dialog channel; initiate the minilateral cooperation in the Northeast Asian region; expand the strategic communication channel with Russia; and activate public diplomacy toward Russia.