S. Korea: WSJ Editorial Cautions Korea Not To Ignore NK Threat

Chosun Ilbo ^ | Mar. 30, 2004 | Kim Yeon-geuk

[TigerLikesRooster]

WSJ Editorial Cautions Korea Not To Ignore NK Threat A column in the Tuesday issue of the Wall Street Journal that analyzed growing anti-American sentiment in Korea said that if the South Korean government continues to instill pro-North Korean sentiment in the minds of its citizens, there will be a time when South Korea must take sole responsibility for its national security. In this editorial column, Asian Wall Street Journal deputy editor Danny Gittings said that after the Korean Teachers and Educational Workers’ Union was established under the sunshine policy five years ago, anti-American sentiment has worsened in schools. According to Gittings’ critical analysis, the sunshine policy attacks the reason for 31,460 U.S. military personnel to be stationed in Korea.

While the Roh Administration perpetuated the sunshine policy, the National Security Counsel (NSC) declared that North Korea is no longer a threat, but Gittings pointed out that North Korea withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) recently to concentrate on building nuclear bombs. In light of this, Gittings said that he is not surprised when senior diplomats compare the NSC and young presidential advisors with the Taliban regime.

Referring to Roh’s impeachment, Gittings said that it is an awkward situation because the National Assembly passed the impeachment motion not because Roh neglected North Korea’s threat and jeopardized South Korea’s national security, but only because of a technical violation of the electoral laws.

Commenting on how to cope with the current political situation, Gittings said that a pullout of 33,000 U.S. military personnel in Korea would also mean forsaking the efforts of American soldiers who lost their lives during the Korean War. He added that if South Korea is influenced by Pyongyang, it would not be good for the United States.

A rupture in the 50-year alliance between South Korea and the United States is not as unthinkable as it was only few years ago, Gittings said, asserting that South Korea would have to stand on its own if it continues to deny the North Korean threat.

(Kim Yeon-geuk, yk-kim@chosun.com )

[TigerLikesRooster]

FYI

[TigerLikesRooster]

Ping!

[millefleur]

The evil ones train up a child in the way they want the world to go: into chaos and then, enslavement.

[TigerLikesRooster]

What lies ahead of S. Korea if her internal situation further deteriorates? If Roh government stays on, it will resort to populist measures to stem her worsening economic situation. Militant labor, teacher's union, environment groups, and welfare lobbyists are all important constituencies of Roh. Its N. Korean policy is to continue to appease the N. Korean regime almost unconditionally.

The worst can be California and Israel rolled up together, California's bankruptcy and Israel's catastrophic security failure after years of the "Peace Now" movement. While it could be a perfect way of discrediting this leftist regime(who always call itself "moderate conservative", so Gramscian in its packaging), there may not be much left to go on when the regime finally is shown the door.

[blanknoone]

I oppose America abandoning allies. That said, I think South Korea has abandoned us...if they want to appease the North, they can do it without us picking up their security tab. At the very least we should remove our troops from the DMZ, and reduce our footprint. I could also see switching from a troop presence to a pre-positioned equipment presence around Pusan. And if that doesn't deliver the message, then the equipment should be moved aboard ships or to Japan.

[TigerLikesRooster]

Re #5

If Bush gets reelected and Roh stays on, your scenario may play out. I wonder what Kerry will do in this situation. My guess is that he will end up buying N. Korea's silence with various means, while N. Korea keeps its nuclear option virtually untouched. As for American troops in S. Korea, he will probably follow the current policy of pulling them back from DMZ to the south of Seoul, near Pyong-taek/Osan area, but no more. I think that he won't deviate too much from the status quo.