Foreign, unification ministers reportedly clash over cybersanctions on North following DMZ explosion

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun and Unification Minister Chung Dong-young are reportedly clashing over whether to respond to a land mine explosion that occurred in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) last month with unilateral cybersanctions against North Korea.

Their heated exchange during a National Security Council (NSC) meeting — centered on the blast in the DMZ — on Thursday highlighted the rift between pro-alliance and autonomy camps. The pro-alliance faction prioritizes South Korea’s alliance with the United States, while the autonomy faction calls for greater independence.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sought to expand the scope of Seoul’s sanctions on individuals and entities tied to Pyongyang’s hacking, cryptocurrency theft and overseas IT operations, according to Democratic Party (DP) officials, including members of the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee.

Those sanctioned would have their assets frozen in South Korea and be restricted from financial dealings with South Korean nationals. The real weight behind the Foreign Ministry’s push, however, lies in its implications, as the sanctions would be the South’s alone, separate from the United Nations Security Council’s.

Chung fiercely opposed the move and questioned its timing, arguing that the proposed sanctions had no direct connection to the land mine incident, the government sources said.

He also allegedly pointed to President Lee Jae Myung’s Armed Forces Day speech earlier that day, in which the president reaffirmed his commitment to reducing military tensions with the North, to argue against further sanctions. Chung had cut short a three-country European trip that included Britain and Germany to attend the NSC meeting.

“My understanding is that Chung raised his voice,” one ruling party official said. “Perhaps that reflects his strong belief that the government should act as a pacesetter, given the United States’ moves to restart dialogue with the North.”

The explosion that injured three South Korean soldiers near the border appears to have struck a nerve within the government. The military has effectively concluded that North Korea planted the mine.

“The government is under considerable pressure to respond after one of our soldiers lost a foot,” said another official. “The Ministry of Unification has called for a low-key approach to the land mine incident, while the defense and foreign policy teams have taken a different view.”

South Korea, the United States and Japan convened a working group on North Korean cyberthreats in Washington in June. The three countries also agreed to continue their joint coordination and advisory efforts against North Korean activities during a ministerial meeting in New York on Sept. 21.

“The government may have viewed this as an opportunity to push for additional sanctions in light of its broader coordination with the United States and Japan,” a source said.

Tensions from Thursday carried over into the press the following day.

“Once a final decision [on the government’s response to the blast] is announced, the Foreign Ministry will take appropriate measures within its authority,” a senior ministry official told reporters.

Chung struck a different note. He called the proposal to resume loudspeaker broadcasts toward North Korea “irresponsible and extremely dangerous.”

“A hard-line response to a hard-line response will not solve this problem,” the unification minister said. He instead suggested talks with Pyongyang over the military demarcation line (MDL), which functions as a de facto border within the DMZ.

However, restarting loudspeaker broadcasts was reportedly not discussed at the NSC meeting.

Lee has stayed the course on easing tensions with the North despite the land mine incident. In his Armed Forces Day speech, he described it as an “unfortunate accident” and did not explicitly mention Pyongyang. He also pledged to continue measures to lower military tensions between the two Koreas.

“A vicious cycle of hostility and confrontation should end to create a virtuous cycle of peace and prosperity,” he said at an event on Sunday, marking the inter-Korean declaration signed in 2007.

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) has continued criticizing what it sees as the government’s reluctance to hold the North accountable.

“‘Unfortunate accident’ is the kind of phrase that a bystander would use,” PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok said on Thursday.

“How much more provocation and humiliation must we endure before this servile patience ends?” the party’s floor leader, Jeong Jeom-sig, said.

The government plans to decide the extent of its response to the land mine incident after the military releases its final investigation findings, possibly as early as this week.

It is also reportedly weighing whether to use the incident to clarify the MDL baseline, which the two Koreas interpret differently. Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul discussed the explosion and the MDL issue with Xavier Brunson, the head of the UN command, on Friday.

BY LEE CHAN-KYU [[email protected]]