Special Contribution by H.E. Cho Hyun Minister Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea 'Foreign Relations' October 2025

Navigating a Turbulent World: The Case for Pragmatic Diplomacy Anchored in National Interest

International order at an inflection point

The world today is adrift in turbulence - not only in the security, economic and trade spheres, but the fabric of international order.

On the security front, Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 challenged the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity to their core, providing a stark reminder that we are witnessing the return of history. The United Nations found itself paralyzed in the face of the crisis. Against the backdrop of renewed armed conflict in the Middle East since late 2023 and unrelenting tensions surrounding Taiwan and the South China Sea, there are persistent fears that military confrontation might break out anytime, anywhere. Even the Korean Peninsula teetered on the brink of a clash last year.

On the economic front, the Washington Consensus-based neoliberal order that thrived during the post-Cold War era no longer appears sustainable. Strategic rivalry between Washington and Beijing is fragmenting global supply chains and tightening export controls on cutting-edge technologies, carving the world into economic blocs. The World Trade Organization and the order it underpins is struggling under the hefty weight of protectionism and neo-mercantilism. For a free-trade-oriented country like Korea, the growing appetite for active market intervention among many governments poses a particular challenge.

At the same time, the world is moving from a unipolar to a multipolar order. Nations such as India and Brazil are asserting greater influence commensurate with their growing power - what many call the "rise of the rest." Meanwhile the West is grappling with fundamental questions about its future, as large-scale immigration intensifies internal fractures and polarizes societies. The conviction in the "open society" that the West long upheld is fading, and with it, the standing of norms and ideals in international affairs.

We are now on the cusp of what might be called a post-post-Cold War era. At this point, no one can say with any certainty what shape the new era will take. What is certain is that the old playbooks no longer apply and the seas are too rough to steer by gazing at the North Star alone. The imperative, then, is to set ideology aside, dispassionately assess our surroundings, and to navigate this turbulence with the compass of a pragmatic foreign policy that puts national interest first.

Easing tensions on the Korean Peninsula and in Northeast Asia

Korea's foremost priority on the security front is to prevent war and ensure that the Peninsula does not become a fault line of conflict.

It goes without saying that the safeguarding of peace is dependent on a robust ROK-U.S. combined defense posture and the steadfast enhancement of our own defense capabilities. As North Korea continues to advance its nuclear and missile programs, unwavering U.S. commitment to Korea's defense, including extended deterrence, and Korea's determination to modernize our alliance in a mutually beneficial and forward-looking manner is as important as ever. Yet these measures alone cannot suffice; they must be accompanied by parallel steps to reduce military tensions. With the nuclear threat from the North persisting, it is by no means easy to transition away from hostile relations to peaceful coexistence. Still, we must boldly break free from old preconceptions. At the August ROK-U.S. Summit, President Lee Jae Myung expressed his intention to act as a pacemaker, supporting President Trump's role as a peacemaker on the Korean Peninsula. This reflects the determination that we should not be preoccupied with the sequencing of talks between the U.S. and North Korea and between the two Koreas, but instead focus on urgently restoring dialogue and establishing peace.

A nuclear-free Korean Peninsula is a goal which we must never abandon. To do so would tempt other nations to pursue nuclear weapons, undermining an international non-proliferation regime that has held together for over half a century and destabilize the world further. The Korean government will make every effort to advance denuclearization and build a peace regime in parallel by fleshing out a phased strategy leading from suspension to reduction to dismantlement. This requires generating conditions for dialogue that builds on the high-level coordination between Seoul and Washington, as well as utmost diplomatic efforts to revive both U.S.-North Korea and inter-Korean dialogues.

Equally crucial is avoiding the deepening of two confrontational blocs between North Korea-China-Russia on the one hand and ROK-U.S.-Japan on the other. This is why we should steadfastly promote trilateral cooperation among Korea, China, and Japan even as we strengthen the ROK-U.S.-Japan framework. It is also why we should revive negotiations on the ROK-China-Japan Free Trade Agreement. Such an arrangement, which would represent the world's third largest economic grouping, will lower trade barriers, enhance trade and supply chain stability, and help defuse the formation of adversarial blocs.

China's ever growing power understandably evokes suspicions in certain quarters, given the differences in our systems. In addition to China's rise as a military power, its industrial competitiveness and cutting-edge technological advancement have transformed today's China into a manufacturing superpower - surpassing the capacities of Korea, U.S., Japan, and Germany combined - and a science-and-technology powerhouse. This shift has redefined Korea's economic ties with China from a vertical, complementary division of labor to a more horizontal, competitive relationship. We must cultivate a new model of cooperation that adapts to this new reality, while also securing new engines of Korea's future growth.

China remains our important neighbor and a strategic cooperative partner - it is our largest export destination (20% of total share) with a market of 1.4 billion people, and a country that can play a constructive role in peace on the Peninsula and stability in East Asia. The spread of hateful anti-Chinese sentiment in Korea, which not only is unbecoming of us, but can in turn fuel anti-Korean sentiment in China - traps both sides in a vicious cycle of distrust. Escalating tensions and frictions to the extremes serves no one's national interests, a point equally applicable to the broader U.S.-China relations.

Engaging China constructively does not mean yielding on sovereignty or identity. Indeed, Korea will continue to respond firmly to challenges such as China's installation of structures in the Yellow Sea. At the same time, we must learn to coexist with a powerful China, even if it cannot be done overnight. Another key actor for peace and stability on the Peninsula is Russia. We will keep communication channels open, while continuing diplomatic efforts to end military cooperation between North Korea and Russia.

Economic diplomacy to enhance future competitiveness

We must leverage vigorous economic diplomacy to enhance our competitiveness and chart our way through the global economic and trade turbulence.

The Korean government is strenuously working to produce a win-win package from the ROK-U.S. tariff negotiations, prioritizing our national interest and making sure tangible benefits will also accrue to Korea's economy and industries. In this regard, enhancing cooperation with the U.S. in shipbuilding, nuclear energy, and advanced technologies is critical. Likewise, the United States is also seeking cooperation with Korea - a manufacturing powerhouse and a key ally - which will give further impetus to strengthening the alliance and reinforce economic security, while creating opportunities for Korean firms to outpace Chinese competitors. Having evolved from a treaty-based security alliance to an economic partnership grounded in the FTA, the ROK-U.S. alliance is now building its third pillar through science and technology cooperation - transforming itself into a Future-Oriented Comprehensive Strategic Alliance.

With Japan, the exchange of mutual visits by our two leaders soon after President Lee Jae Myung took office helped to expand youth exchanges, promote collaboration in emerging sectors such as hydrogen and AI, and address shared challenges like demographic aging and decline as well as regional revitalization. Notwithstanding Japan's importance as a partner, Japan remains the only major trade partner with which Korea does not have a FTA. While our economies were seen to be predominantly in competition with each other in the past, they are in fact largely complementary today, given their strengths in different areas. A comprehensive economic cooperation agreement covering supply chains and advanced high technology is therefore overdue.

Korea should actively consider joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Featuring a high level of market openness and far-reaching trade rules, the CPTPP holds both economic and strategic significance. As the CPTPP expands - with the UK recently joining as the 12th member and with dialogues underway with ASEAN and the EU - Korea's participation will create greater space for our firms to strengthen competitiveness in the midst of the U.S. and China. As Washington rewrites trade rules outside the WTO framework, working closely with Japan and other partners is no longer a matter of choice, but a necessity.

Against this backdrop, Korea's hosting of the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in Gyeongju - our first in two decades - will be an important milestone. It will provide an opportunity to address pressing global issues such as digital transformation, AI, climate change, and supply chain resilience, while fostering an environment conducive to sustainable growth.

Diversifying our engagement

Korea must diversify its partners and expand its strategic space in a world that is becoming increasingly multipolar.

Above all, Korea needs to team up with like-minded partners that share our strategic outlook. President Lee met with leaders from Australia, Canada, UK, Poland, and the Czech Republic during the G7 and UNGA sessions. In New York, I met counterparts from Germany, Canada, Australia, and hosted the MIKTA Ministerial. The recent inaugural meeting of foreign ministers of Korea, Australia, Japan, and New Zealand from the Indo-Pacific and France, Germany, Poland, and the United Kingdom from Europe reflects the two regions' shared recognition of the need for closer coordination in the face of increasing geopolitical uncertainties.

Europe's experience of having overcome two World Wars and achieved peace through economic integration offers valuable lessons, as we too aspire to build a peaceful and cooperative order in Northeast Asia.

President Lee also engaged with leaders from major emerging economies, including India, Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa, and I made an unusually early visit to New Delhi a few weeks into my tenure. These moves reflect our intent to align diplomacy to best serve our national interest amid changing global currents. In the same spirit, the upcoming ASEAN-related Summit and G20 Summit will provide important platforms to deepen dialogue and diversify our cooperation.

A bipartisan consensus for diplomacy

The Lee Jae Myung government will not be shackled by ideology or entrenched preconceptions as it advances a pragmatic diplomacy based on our national interest. We will engage stakeholders to secure public consensus on where our national interest lies and build bipartisan support. It is only through diplomacy grounded in bipartisan support that we can safeguard our survival and prosperity under the harsh realities of a volatile international landscape.

History offers a sobering lesson. In the early nineteenth century Joseon, the Silhak (pragmatic) scholars lost influence after the death of King Jeongjo, a reformist monarch who sought to free the nation from ideological rigidity. The ensuing decades saw Joseon embroiled in doctrinal disputes, and unable to confront reality, ultimately losing its sovereignty. Today, Korea faces another critical juncture. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will place pragmatic reasoning at the heart of every decision, free from ideological blinders, as it seeks to uphold the national interest.