|
Quotes of the Day:
"We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil,"
- John Steinbeck
"If evil be spoken of you and it be true, correct yourself, if it be a lie, laugh at it."
- Epictetus
"The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind."
- Friedrich Nietzsche
1. Japanese PM Kishida to visit S. Korea this weekend
2. 'Korea to expand aid to level of world's top 10 donors': finance minister
3. Korea demonstrates defense tech prowess with expansive weapons arsenal
4. South Korea's fateful nuclear choice
5. [Graphic News] About 60% of young people say unification with North Korea unnecessary
6. Korea should not take 70-year US alliance for granted: Yoon
7. Commentary: Yoon celebrates US alliance in Washington visit - but jury’s out if all in South Korea agree
8. THE UNAUTHORIZED HISTORY OF THE KOREAN WAR
9. Washington Declaration Shores Up U.S. Security Commitments to South Korea
10. S. Korea’s GDP per capita is overtaken by Taiwan
11. S. Korea to release report on N. Korea's economic, social situations for 1st time
12. U.S. remains fully committed to diplomacy with N. Korea: State Dept.
13. A Brutal Sex Trade Built for American Soldiers (Korea)
14. Persuading the people matters for diplomacy
15. South Korea's Yoon says nuclear group upgrades U.S. alliance
16. 'USFK bullets' found in Seoul turn out to be fake
17. Sexual Facebook post spurs UN Command to review its social media policies
18. Without domestic support, foreign policy fails
1. Japanese PM Kishida to visit S. Korea this weekend
Another step forward.
(LEAD) Japanese PM Kishida to visit S. Korea this weekend | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · May 2, 2023
(ATTN: UPDATES with details, background; COMBINES with story slugged 'S Korea-Japan-Kishida'; ADDS photo)
By Lee Haye-ah
SEOUL, May 2 (Yonhap) -- Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will arrive in South Korea this weekend for a two-day visit, the presidential office said Tuesday, as the two countries work to repair ties badly frayed over historical disputes.
Kishida will pay a working visit to South Korea on Sunday and Monday at the invitation of President Yoon Suk Yeol, the first bilateral visit by a Japanese leader since October 2011, the office said in a press release.
Yoon and Kishida will hold a summit Sunday, Japan's foreign ministry said.
The two leaders are expected to discuss ways to strengthen their security cooperation to counter growing nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. They are also likely to agree on the need to bolster trilateral cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo for stronger nuclear deterrence against the North.
President Yoon Suk Yeol (L) shakes hands with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the end of their joint news conference after their summit in Tokyo, in this March 16, 2023, file photo. (Yonhap)
The trip will come less than two months after Yoon visited Tokyo for a summit with Kishida in the wake of his administration's decision to compensate Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor without contributions from Japanese firms.
The forced labor issue had been a major thorn in bilateral relations since South Korea's Supreme Court ordered two Japanese companies in 2018 to pay compensation to the victims mobilized during Tokyo's 1910-45 colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula.
The Yoon-Kishida summit will also come only days after the South Korean president held a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington and agreed on measures to strengthen the U.S. extended deterrence commitment to South Korea.
Extended deterrence refers to the U.S. commitment to mobilizing all of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally.
Kishida's visit will mark the resumption of "shuttle diplomacy" at the leader level, or regular visits to each other's country, the presidential office said.
Resuming shuttle diplomacy was one of the agreements reached by Yoon and Kishida during their summit in Tokyo in March.
Yoon was the first South Korean president to pay a bilateral visit to Japan in 12 years, as the two countries' relations had been strained over the forced labor row and other historical disputes stemming from Tokyo's colonial rule.
Kishida told reporters about his plan to visit South Korea while on a trip to Ghana on Monday, saying it will be a "good opportunity" for the two sides to "frankly exchange opinions" on ways to develop South Korea-Japan relations and handle the rapidly changing global security environment, according to Japan's Kyodo News.
Kishida will be accompanied to Seoul by his wife, Yuko, the presidential office said.
hague@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 이해아 · May 2, 2023
2. 'Korea to expand aid to level of world's top 10 donors': finance minister
The Global Pivalt State. Putting the money where the mouth is.
'Korea to expand aid to level of world's top 10 donors': finance minister
The Korea Times · by 2023-05-02 16:35 | Economy · May 2, 2023
Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa, left, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho greet one other during the opening of Korea Seminar Day, a program of the ADB's 56th annual meeting, at Songdo Convensia in Incheon's Sondgo International Business District, Tuesday. Yonhap
ADB seminar shares Korea's economic success to overcome post-pandemic era challenges
By Yi Whan-woo
INCHEON ― Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho pledged to expand the Korean government's aid for developing countries to the level of the world's top 10 donor countries, during the 56th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) in Incheon's Songdo International Business District, Tuesday.
In his opening speech for Korea Seminar Day, a one-day seminar organized by the Korean government as a part of the meeting's programs, Choo urged Asian countries to work closely for connectivity on government policies, trade and digital technology.
His remark came as Korea marks its 35th year since becoming wealthy enough to no longer receive aid from the ADB, a Philippines-headquartered organization committed to social and economic development in Asia.
His remark was also in line with "Rebounding Asia: Recover, Reconnect, and Reform," the main theme of this year's ADB meeting in the face of multiple global challenges following the pandemic era, such as de-globalization and trade protectionism.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho gives an opening speech for Korea Seminar Day at Songdo Convensia in Incheon's Sondgo International Business District, Tuesday. Yonhap
Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa delivers a congratulatory speech for Korea Seminar Day at Songdo Convensia in Incheon's Sondgo International Business District, Tuesday. Yonhap
"Korea will actively contribute to the regional economic development and integration by sharing our policy achievements and development experiences," Choo said during the opening of the seminar at Songdo Convensia.
Nobel Prize-winning economist urges policy flexibility for socio-economic challenges
He went on to say, "Korea will expand its ODA volume to the level of the world's top 10 donors, and actively strengthen our cooperation for the development of the Asia-Pacific region."
ODA is an abbreviation for official development assistance ― government aid that promotes and specifically targets the economic development and welfare of developing countries.
Concerning Asia's economy as a whole, Choo said it will "rise as a mainstay of the global economy in the future" but currently faces "polycrisis" risks.
He accordingly underlined that strengthening policy connectivity, trade connectivity and digital connectivity, respectively, is crucial to address global uncertainty, geoeconomic fragmentation and digital innovation.
Participants of Korea Seminar Day listen to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho delivering a speech at Songdo Convensia in Incheon's Sondgo International Business District, Tuesday. Yonhap
The opening ceremony was joined by ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa and National Research Council (NRC) for Economics, Humanities and Social Sciences Chairman Jung Hae-gu, who each delivered a congratulatory speech, as well as economists from the ADB, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), both active and retired, and university professors from Korea and abroad.
A host country can address areas of specific interest at the seminar, in relation to the respective theme of the given ADB meeting.
In that regard, the seminar focused on Korea's economic success as an aid recipient-turned-donor country, sharing its policy directions and addressing how it can take initiatives on key global economic initiatives in the future.
Calling Korea a leader in global innovation, the ADB president said the focus of the seminar is anticipated to showcase Korea's experience to the participants and expressed his gratitude to Korea for the content it presented.
The NRC chairman highlighted Korea is the world's only aid recipient-turned-donor country, expressing hope that the seminar will be helpful for the Asia-Pacific region to cope with urgent issues in the pandemic era.
The seminar began with a keynote session between Nobel Prize-winning economist Michael Kremer and Korea Development Institute (KDI) President Cho Dong-chul, followed by four regular sessions.
Kremer discussed how his signature O-ring theory, which proposes that tasks of production must be executed proficiently together in order for any of them to be of high value, can be applied to Korea's rapid economic development and act as a lesson for those that want to emulate the country's successes.
The four regular sessions were titled, "Recover: Post-pandemic Economic Challenges and Policy Redesign in Asia," "Reconnect: Enhancing Regional Cooperation in Asia amid Global Supply Chain Disruptions," "Reform 1: Digital Transformation and Asia's Cooperation in the Era of Global Recession" and "Reform 2: Post-pandemic Fiscal Management System for Fiscal Sustainability."
The Korea Times · by 2023-05-02 16:35 | Economy · May 2, 2023
3. Korea demonstrates defense tech prowess with expansive weapons arsenal
Good for its own military, good for the alliance, and this makes the ROK a good partner in the arsenal of democracy.
Tuesday
May 2, 2023
dictionary + A - A
Korea demonstrates defense tech prowess with expansive weapons arsenal
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/05/02/national/defense/Korea-weapons/20230502174605764.html
In December, the first of 180 K-2 Black Panther tanks by Hyundai Rotem began arriving in Poland as part of the first batch of main battle tanks pulled from the South Korean Army for speedy delivery.
While Poland plans to domestically manufacture over 800 K-2 tanks beginning in 2025 or 2026, those combined 1,000 tanks constitute just one part of the cumulative $14 billion arms packages signed by Seoul and Warsaw.
Other weapons in the Polish deal include 672 South Korean K-9 Thunder self-propelled howitzers — of which two-thirds will be produced in Poland — as well as 48 FA-50 light combat aircraft and 288 K-239 Chunmoo multiple-rocket launchers.
These weapons are some of Korea's most popular big-ticket arms exports, but other items also signify the advances made by the country in its indigenous defense technology. In April 2021, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) unveiled the country's first domestically developed multirole fighter jet, while the military successfully test-fired a locally-developed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from the Dosan Ahn Changho submarine in September that same year.
Together, these weapons represent Korea's growing prowess as a weapons manufacturer and supplier to fulfill not only its own defense procurement requirements, but also that of armed forces around the world.
K-2 Black Panther
The K-2 Black Panther is "a state-of-the-art battle tank" that is "always counted among the top five tanks in the world," according to Yang Uk, an associate research fellow at the Asan Institute.
The K-2 combines an auto-loaded 120-millimeter, 55-caliber main gun, advanced composite armor and multiple protection systems to intercept anti-tank missiles.
Not only does its gun possess superior muzzle velocity to the 120-millimeter, 44-caliber gun found on Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks, the K-2 has an autoloader that enables it to fire up to 15 rounds a minute and an automated fire control system that allows the tank's gun and turret to track targets without human intervention.
The K-2 also boasts high maneuverability, with the ability to ford rivers up to 4.2 meters (13.8 feet) in depth with only 20 to 30 minutes of preparation, as well as hydropneumatic suspension that can raise or lower its profile for better concealment.
At a price of $8.5 million per unit, the K-2 is one of the most expensive battle tanks ever developed. But in Turkish evaluations alongside the better established Leopard 2 and Leclerc, the K-2's performance was close enough that Ankara chose the Korean tank as the basis of its Altay tank project.
In February, Korean company Hyundai Doosan Infracore signed a $256.76 million deal with Turkey's BMC to provide it with the engines that will be installed in Altay battle tanks.
K-9 Thunder
Introduced in 1999 by Samsung Techwin, now Hanwha Defense, the K-9 Thunder self-propelled howitzer has been a hit with foreign purchasers.
Over 600 units have been exported around the world to countries like Norway, Poland, Estonia, Finland, India and Turkey. Australia and Egypt also inked deals last year to introduce the K-9 into their armed forces, bringing the K-9's share of the global howitzer market to 52 percent last year.
Observers such as Ryu Hyeong-gon, a senior fellow at the Korea Institute of Defense Technology, attributed the K-9 Thunder's popularity to its mobility and cost-effectiveness.
"While the K-9 tops the German-made PzH 2000 howitzer in terms of cost competitiveness, it only lags slightly in technical terms, creating an even playing field between the pair," he wrote in the May edition of the JoongAng Ilbo monthly publication.
Priced at $3 million per unit, the K-9 only costs roughly a third of the PzH 2000.
Equipped with a 360-degree rotating turret, the K-9 has a firing range of 40 kilometers (25 miles) and moves as fast as 67 kilometers per hour. When stationary, the K-9 can fire within 30 seconds, and within 60 seconds when in motion, due to its automatic fire control system.
Another factor in the K-9's popularity is its interoperability with NATO weapons and its versatility in a wide range of climates and terrains.
"With over 2,000 K-9s in operation in Korea and around the world, the howitzer's maintenance and ease of use has been thoroughly confirmed," Ryu said.
FA-50 Golden Eagle
The FA-50 is a combat-capable variant of the T-50 Golden Eagle advanced supersonic trainer manufactured by KAI, which was originally intended to train and prepare pilots to fly KF-16 and F-15K fighters.
Korea's development of the T-50 made it the eighth country to possess an indigenous aircraft capable of supersonic flight.
Not only is the T-50 one of the few extant supersonic trainers, its TA-50 and FA-50 derivatives are combat-capable and can be fitted with up to seven external bays that can carry air-to-air and precision-guided air-to-surface weapons.
While the TA-50 and FA-50 are currently integrated with American or Israeli-built radars, KAI aims to integrate more advanced radars in future upgrades.
To date, the FA-50 light fighter has been exported to Iraq, the Philippines, Malaysia and Poland, while the T-50 trainer has been exported to Thailand.
KF-21 Boramae
Although the KF-21 Boramae multirole fighter, which just passed its first armament test in March, currently only has one foreign customer lined up, expectations are high that the 4.5-generation fighter will one day amount to more than just a prestige flagship project for the Korean defense industry.
Development of the KF-21 costs $7.8 billion, making it the most expensive military project in Korean history. Indonesia is shouldering approximately 18 percent of the project in return for the right to produce 48 KF-21 jets locally after receiving one prototype and technical data.
Aimed at replacing the Korean Air Force's aging McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and Northrop F-5 fighter jets, the KF-21 Boramae is a 4.5-generation aircraft, on par with the latest F-16 but less stealthy than the fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II developed by Lockheed Martin.
During the KF-21's development process, Korean engineers localized key technologies needed in the indigenous stealth fighter, including the active electronically scanned array, infrared search and tracking system, electro-optical targeting pod and electronic warfare suite.
While disruptions and quality problems in the American-made parts supplies in the past five years led to 535 times when KF-16 fighter jets and 548 times when F-15K fighter jets could not be used by the Air Force, the 65-percent production localization of the KF-21 is likely to mitigate such problems.
The Defense Acquisition Program Administration told the National Assembly's Defense Committee in March that it plans to verify the combat suitability of the KF-21 by May, six months earlier than planned, in order to commence mass production next year.
Deployment of the KF-21 is expected to begin in 2026.
According to KAI, 40 KF-21s will be delivered to the Air Force by 2028 and 80 more by 2032. KAI plans to export the jets from 2028 onwards at a price of approximately $65 million per unit.
M-SAM Block-2 Cheongung II
Cheongung II, which means "heaven's bow" in Korean, is a medium-range surface-to-air (M-SAM) Block-2 system that constitutes a core element of Korea's anti-missile air defense program.
A single M-SAM Block-2 battery consists of a mobile multi-function radar made by Hanwha Systems, a command post vehicle made by Kia and Hanwha Defense, and usually four launchers, each carrying eight vertically launched missiles in canisters.
The first M-SAM system, which could intercept enemy aircraft, entered service with the Korean military in 2015. The upgraded M-SAM Block-2, developed by the Agency for Defense Development and manufactured by the three companies, is designed to also intercept lower-tier ballistic missiles flying at altitudes of below 40 kilometers.
LIG Nex1 began mass producing M-SAM Block-2 in 2018 after five years of development and delivered the system to the Korean military in November 2020.
In January last year, the United Arab Emirates signed an agreement to buy the Cheongung II system in a deal worth $3.5 billion, which at the time was not only the single largest defense system export deal to date, but also the first sale of a Korean-made multi-layered anti-missile system to a foreign country.
KSS-III Jang Bogo-III
KSS-III (Jang bogo-III) class is a series of next-generation diesel-electric attack submarines being built by Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME).
The KSS-III project is expected to yield nine diesel-electric attack submarines capable of firing SLBMs, to be built in three batches from 2014 to 2029.
Submarines of the Batch-I design are 83.5 meters long, 9.6 meters wide and displace over 3,350 tons.
The Korean Navy accepted the delivery of the Dosan Ahn Changho, the first KSS-III Batch-I submarine, in August 2021, with the second, the Ahnmu, being delivered in April.
Korea's first indigenously developed SLBM, codenamed Hyunmoo 4-4 and based off the Hyunmoo-2B ballistic missile, was successfully fired from the Dosan Anchangho in September 2021.
According to DSME, over 76 percent of the components for this submarine class were procured from within South Korea, with key systems such as its Air Independent Propulsion, lithium-Ion battery and Korean Vertical Launching System developed domestically, unlike earlier submarines operated by the Korean Navy. The emphasis on domestic technology and procurement for the submarine's crucial parts is likely to aid in the export of the KSS-III in the future.
South Korea won a contract to provide Indonesia with three submarines based on the earlier Jang Bogo-I class in 2011. The first two submarines, KRI Nagapasa and KRI Ardadedali, were delivered in 2017 and 2018, while the third was assembled locally with South Korean support as part of a technology transfer program.
DSME has also submitted a bid to supply a 3,000-tonne variant of the KSS-III, known as the DSME-3000, to the Indian Navy.
AS-21 Redback
Hanwha Defense's AS-21 Redback is a fifth-generation infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) equipped with a Mk44S Bushmaster II 30-millimeter chain gun as its main armament, which can be upgraded to a 40-millimeter variant if necessary. The vehicle also has a 7.62-millimeter coaxially mounted machine gun.
The Redback also comes with blast mitigation systems to protect against mines and improvised explosive devices.
The vehicle is a finalist in Canberra's $18 billion to $27 billion Land 400 Phase 3 project, which aims to overhaul Australia's current fleet of M113AS4 armored personnel carriers and replace them with around 450 units of a new IFV. The Redback, named after a venomous Australian spider, is competing with German company Rheinmetall's Lynx KF41 to win the bid.
Hanwha Defense Australia, a subsidiary of the Korean firm based in Melbourne, has teamed up with other arms companies including Electro Optic Systems and Elbit Systems to produce the Redback.
According to Hanwha, around 20 to 30 percent of the technology and equipment in the Redback is Israeli.
The vehicle's protective armor is made by Plasan, an Israeli vehicle manufacturer, while another Israeli company, Elbit Systems, provided the vehicle with its Iron Vision system, which provides the Redback's crew with 360-degree situational awareness through a head mounted display.
BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]
4. South Korea's fateful nuclear choice
This is a very insightful and important analysis.
Excerpts;
In order to take advantage of U.S. nuclear capabilities at the level that South Korea wants, there are many issues that South Korea needs to resolve on its own first. South Korean society has become very polarized over perceptions of North Korea's nuclear threat, and political factions have been arguing over the essence of the "North Korean issue" within a dual conservative/progressive framework.
Hopes for a bipartisan, unified stance by South Korea towards North Korea's nuclear threats, which could send a strong message to the U.S. in terms of the will of the South Korean people, seem like a pipe dream under the current political environment. Given this sad reality of a divided South Korean society, it is hard to conclude with confidence that this summit's aims to strengthen the alliance and enhance deterrence of North Korea's nuclear weapons program will be achieved. Importantly, the Yoon government must confront the fact that it still has much to do when it comes to dealing with North Korea's nuclear threat through "real substantial deterrence."
The South Korean people must also recognize that it will be difficult to manage the alliance, let alone respond to North Korea's nuclear weapons program effectively, if they fail to reach a consensus on national security matters. In the event that South Korea does suffer a catastrophic nuclear attack by North Korea, it will be hard to blame any single politician or party for the outcome. Because it will have been the result of choices made by the South Korean people overall.
South Korea's fateful nuclear choice
The Korea Times · May 1, 2023
By Park Jung-won
South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden held a summit at the White House on April 26, announcing the Washington Declaration, which calls for strengthening the U.S. commitment to extended deterrence.
As part of the Washington Declaration, the two leaders agreed to establish the Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG), through which the two countries will discuss closely and regularly potential retaliation measures against North Korea, using U.S. nuclear weapons if the North launches a nuclear attack. Experts worry that the NCG's remit will fall short of that of a similar body, NATO's Nuclear Planning Group (NPG). However, the NPG also entails a consultation process rather than a detailed plan for the use of nuclear weapons, given that the U.S. has the ultimate authority over the use of such arms.
One key difference is that aircraft belonging to NATO member states on which U.S. nuclear weapons can be deployed are currently used in training exercises to carry out nuclear retaliation missions in case of that contingency. However, in Northeast Asia the U.S. Air Force maintains that immediate nuclear retaliation is currently possible without South Korea's participation; if the North Korean nuclear threat becomes more serious in the future, South Korea could then actively participate in nuclear retaliation missions after appropriate consultations with the U.S.
The two leaders also agreed to enhance the visibility of strategic assets deployed to the Korean Peninsula, as evidenced by the impending dispatch of a U.S. nuclear ballistic missile submarine (SSBN) to South Korea for the first time since the 1980s. It is said that a single U.S. SSBN's arsenal is equivalent to the total nuclear stockpiles of some lesser nuclear powers. An SSBN deployment to South Korea means that it will regularly operate around the Korean Peninsula and can send a strong signal of deterrence to North Korea.
Having said that, these "optimistic" assessments may be nothing more than wishful thinking given the harsh reality of conditions on the Korean Peninsula. After all, what ultimately gives the Washington Declaration teeth is the expectation that if South Korea is hit by North Korea's nuclear weapons, the U.S. will retaliate with its own. But no one knows if the U.S. will really carry out its pledge when the time comes.
Moreover, the unpredictability of U.S. politics, especially as next year's presidential election approaches, could turn the declaration into a meaningless piece of paper. In this regard, it is shocking that President Yoon gave up his country's right to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which would allow it to produce its own nuclear weapons, at a time when North Korea's tactical nuclear threat against South Korea is becoming manifest. Did President Yoon not have the determination to carry out diplomatic brinksmanship with the U.S., as President Syngman Rhee once did?
Since persuading North Korea to denuclearize through diplomacy now seems a virtual impossibility, it is essential for South Korea to resolve the nuclear asymmetry between the two Koreas through some form of nuclear balance as soon as possible. For now, the simplest way to establish this balance would be the redeployment of U.S. tactical nuclear weapons in South Korea. The U.S., however, has rejected such a measure, perhaps believing that the placement of such weapons in stationary bunkers in South Korea rather than in mobile and stealthy aircraft or submarines makes less sense militarily and would create very tempting targets for North Korea.
But the permanent presence of U.S. nuclear weapons in South Korea would make a huge difference in terms of the psychological threat felt by North Korea. Moreover, rather than leaving ambiguous the possibility of South Korea's future independent nuclear armament, the declaration makes clear the deliberate U.S. intention to prevent South Korea's nuclear armament under any circumstance.
Before the summit, many South Korean security experts hoped for a formal U.S. commitment to automatic nuclear retaliation "without hesitation" in the event of a North Korean nuclear attack on South Korea, but the final declaration did not go so far. In other words, the diplomatic wrangling which led to the Washington Declaration may end up having been just another "talkfest" of little substance despite the declaration's apparently stronger pledges.
In order to take advantage of U.S. nuclear capabilities at the level that South Korea wants, there are many issues that South Korea needs to resolve on its own first. South Korean society has become very polarized over perceptions of North Korea's nuclear threat, and political factions have been arguing over the essence of the "North Korean issue" within a dual conservative/progressive framework.
Hopes for a bipartisan, unified stance by South Korea towards North Korea's nuclear threats, which could send a strong message to the U.S. in terms of the will of the South Korean people, seem like a pipe dream under the current political environment. Given this sad reality of a divided South Korean society, it is hard to conclude with confidence that this summit's aims to strengthen the alliance and enhance deterrence of North Korea's nuclear weapons program will be achieved. Importantly, the Yoon government must confront the fact that it still has much to do when it comes to dealing with North Korea's nuclear threat through "real substantial deterrence."
The South Korean people must also recognize that it will be difficult to manage the alliance, let alone respond to North Korea's nuclear weapons program effectively, if they fail to reach a consensus on national security matters. In the event that South Korea does suffer a catastrophic nuclear attack by North Korea, it will be hard to blame any single politician or party for the outcome. Because it will have been the result of choices made by the South Korean people overall.
Park Jung-won (park_jungwon@hotmail.com), Ph.D. in law from the London School of Economics (LSE), is a professor of international law at Dankook University.
The Korea Times · May 1, 2023
5. [Graphic News] About 60% of young people say unification with North Korea unnecessary
Cute interactive graphics at the link. http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20230501000607&np=1&mp=1
But no one would be surprised or alarmed by this. What people want and what is forced upon them by circumstances (war or regime collapse) are two different things.
[Graphic News] About 60% of young people say unification with North Korea unnecessary
koreaherald.com · by Nam Kyung-don · May 1, 2023
Published : May 2, 2023 - 08:00 Updated : May 2, 2023 - 08:00
About 60 percent of South Koreans in their 20s and 30s said unification with North Korea is not necessary, a survey showed, amid the ongoing impasse in inter-Korean relations and denuclearization talks.
The survey, commissioned by a civic media group called Barun Media Citizen Action, found that 61 percent of people in their 20s and 30s say Korean reunification is “not absolutely necessary.”
In comparison, 24 percent of them say unification with North Korea is “absolutely necessary.”
North Korea has ramped up tensions by carrying out a flurry of weapons tests, including a recent launch of what it claimed to be a solid-fuel Hwasong-18 intercontinental ballistic missile.
According to the survey of 1,001 people, 91 percent of them have unfavorable views of China and 88 percent have unfavorable views of North Korea. (Yonhap)
By Nam Kyung-don (don@heraldcorp.com)
6. Korea should not take 70-year US alliance for granted: Yoon
The euphoria of the excellent summit will soon wear off for all the ROK/US alliance supporters. The alliance requires continued tending.
Korea should not take 70-year US alliance for granted: Yoon
koreaherald.com · by Shin Ji-hye;Kim Arin · May 2, 2023
President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Tuesday that South Korea should be grateful to the United States for the fact that Washington has been an important ally assisting Seoul's development from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War, as he was speaking of his diplomatic achievements during his state visit last week.
"The 70-year history of the South Korea-US alliance is not a given result, of course,” said Yoon, who presided over the first Cabinet meeting after his state visit to the US. “If you have something to be grateful for, you should know how to say thank you.”
“The US was with us until Korea overcame the devastating scars and ruins of war, achieved today's prosperity, and stood tall as the center of the world,” he said.
With the summit in Washington, South Korea and the US have built the five pillars of the security alliance, the industry alliance, the science and technology alliance, the culture alliance and the information alliance on the cornerstone of what he referred to as the "value alliance," he said, calling it an opportunity for a future-oriented relationship between the people of both countries.
Regarding the Nuclear Consultative Group newly established with the "Washington Declaration," he said, "It is more effective than NATO's Nuclear Planning Group in that South Korea and the US meet more frequently and have in-depth, one-on-one discussions.
Yoon's diplomatic achievement was echoed by other conservative experts in Seoul.
The Washington Declaration is an “upgrade for extended deterrence,” Chung Sung-yoon, a unification policy researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said at a seminar.
“It is a new level of reassurance of extended deterrence from the US against potential nuclear attacks on an ally,” he said in the seminar held by Yeouido Institute, the ruling People Power Party think tank.
At the seminar, Lee Su-seok, a senior research fellow at the Institute for National Security Strategy, called for follow-up efforts from South Korean lawmakers to sustain the promise of the declaration.
“There needs to be legislative efforts to support the results of the South Korea-US summit, so that they are sustained beyond the summit,” he said.
While also touting the Washington Declaration as a step up in strengthening the extended deterrence strategy, Chun Chae-sung, a professor in Seoul National University’s department of political science and international relations, said it would have been better if the declaration had included a statement "signaling" that there's also room for negotiation with North Korea for the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
"It seemed the two leaders (Yoon and Biden) had no interest (in addressing the possibility of) negotiating with North Korea for the complete denuclearization of the peninsula. It would have been better if there was (a statement) signaling that extended deterrence is to assure (the allies') defense, but is also for negotiation (that could entail possible measures for) incentives and the security of the regime," he said.
During this visit, Yoon demonstrated a noticeably pro-US policy, which highlighted a more distant relationship with China and Russia. The task of repairing ties with these nations remains a challenge.
In his speech before the US Congress, Yoon condemned Russia's attack on Ukraine. During a joint press conference, Yoon and Biden released a joint statement that strongly opposes any unilateral attempt to change the status quo in the Indo-Pacific, which could be seen as addressing concerns related to China's actions in the area.
The alliance between Korea and the US holds significance, but it is important for Seoul not to prioritize it excessively, Chun said, adding that the country also has interests in its relations with China and Russia.
By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)
Kim Arin (arin@heraldcorp.com)
koreaherald.com · by Shin Ji-hye;Kim Arin · May 2, 2023
7. Commentary: Yoon celebrates US alliance in Washington visit - but jury’s out if all in South Korea agree
A lot of work needs to be done to convince Korean factions of the importance of the Washington Declaration and other summit agreements.
Commentary: Yoon celebrates US alliance in Washington visit - but jury’s out if all in South Korea agree
Securing defence commitments from the US was important for South Korea President Yoon Suk-yeol, but time will tell if they address growing concerns among South Koreans about partnering with Washington, says Ted Gover of Claremont Graduate University.
Ted Gover
@TedGover
02 May 2023 06:01AM
(Updated: 02 May 2023 06:01AM)
channelnewsasia.com
LOS ANGELES: South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol’s Apr 27 address to a joint meeting of the US Congress served as an important opportunity to mark the 70th anniversary of the United States-South Korea security alliance.
Yoon made the case for closer relations with the US, speaking to the “dire human rights situation” in the North and the need to “strengthen US extended deterrence” against North Korea’s nuclear threat. He noted the benefits of both countries’ economic cooperation, touting the tens of thousands of American jobs created by South Korean investment.
Notably, President Yoon stressed America’s and South Korea’s shared commitment to the rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific. He urged the alliance to “fight the forces that seek to destroy democracy” and emphasised “freedom and peace are sources of creativity and innovation that bring prosperity”.
US DOUBLES DOWN ON DEFENCE PROMISES, BROADENS PARTNERSHIP
President Yoon arrived on Capitol Hill fortified by his Apr 26 White House visit, during which he and President Biden signed the Washington Declaration. The declaration states the US will involve Seoul in its nuclear weapons planning in addition to deploying US nuclear-armed submarines to South Korea on a rotational basis.
As part of the agreement, South Korea pledged to not develop its own nuclear weapons programme. Yoon also received assurance from Biden that a North Korean nuclear attack against the US or its partners is unacceptable and would result in the end of the regime in Pyongyang.
Biden and Yoon also broadened the alliance to include new collaboration in non-defence areas such as semiconductor chips, cybersecurity, space and electric vehicle batteries.
Although securing these promises was important for Yoon politically, he still faces the reality that an increasing number of South Koreans have raised doubts about America’s commitment and ability to protect their country.
Complicating matters, polls indicate that 70 per cent of South Koreans want nuclear weapons as a deterrent against North Korea and China. It remains to be seen just how many of these people will end up questioning Yoon’s decision this week to forgo a nuclear weapons programme and rely ever more on Washington for defence.
US-SOUTH KOREA-JAPAN SECURITY COOPERATION
During his address, Yoon spoke of the need “to speed up” US-South Korea-Japan security cooperation. This relates to efforts by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo to deepen joint military relations for purposes of countering the threat from Pyongyang and providing a counterbalance to China’s growing regional ambitions.
The Washington-Seoul-Tokyo trilateral security initiative has been made possible by President Yoon’s admirable investment of significant political capital on efforts to improve ties with Tokyo. South Korea-Japan relations have been fraught over the years because of Imperial Japanese colonialism of the peninsula and controversy over comfort women and forced wartime labour.
Thus far, Seoul and Tokyo have begun the process of restoring trade ties in addition to joining the US military in conducting joint defence exercises.
Yet, Yoon’s rapprochement with Japan have not been without snags. Part of this relates to Yoon’s efforts to resolve the forced labour issue with Japan. The deal Yoon negotiated arranges compensations for wartime labourers under Japan’s colonisation of Korea to be provided by voluntary private sector donations.
The point of contention among many in South Korea is that the Japanese companies at fault are not required to pay into the fund. They believe that collecting the funds from voluntary civilian donations lets Japan off the hook. This discontent will possibly become a thorn in the side of South Korea-Japan relations and could come to a boil after Yoon leaves office.
BACKLASH FROM BEIJING AND MOSCOW
And then there is Beijing. China’s reaction to the Washington Declaration was scathing. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson derided the agreement as reflecting a Cold War mentality, undermining the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons and upending regional peace.
This has left some in Seoul worried that Yoon’s pro-US tilt may alienate China, its largest trading partner.
On April 24 South Korean opposition leader Lee Jae-myung called for Seoul to adopt a more balanced approach towards relations with Beijing and Washington. Worried that Seoul has become too dependent on the US, Lee described President Yoon’s approach as “self-destructive”.
There is little doubt that Lee also disapproved of President Yoon’s recent statement to Reuters that a human rights crisis in Ukraine may induce South Korea to provide weapons to Kyiv. During the interview, Yoon also communicated his opposition to changing the status quo on Taiwan through the unilateral use of force.
This bold talk by Yoon - uncharacteristic of the often cautious and measured diplomacy that South Korea is known for - drew condemnation from Moscow and Beijing.
Time will tell whether President Yoon feels secure enough politically to continue with his forward-leaning approach towards foreign relations. If so, Yoon may accede to Biden’s request to provide Ukraine with the lethal aid it has been requesting.
Part of it will depend on how the South Korean public views Yoon’s deliverables from last week’s state visit to Washington.
Ted Gover, PhD, is Associate Clinical Professor at Claremont Graduate University in Los Angeles.
channelnewsasia.com
8. THE UNAUTHORIZED HISTORY OF THE KOREAN WAR
I contributed about two hours of interviews for this project. Not sure how much will make it into the documentary and how much will be on the cutting room floor.
5 things you should watch on Fox Nation this May
Fox Nation is celebrating Memorial Day by offering military personnel first-year-free memberships
https://www.foxnews.com/media/5-things-you-should-watch-fox-nation-may
THE UNAUTHORIZED HISTORY OF THE KOREAN WAR
On May 15, Bret Baier returns for another installment of his ‘The Unauthorized History of…’ series, this time exploring the Korean War.
The ‘Special Report’ host investigates the misunderstood history of the Korean War, how the brutal fighting tested U.S. resolve in the fight against communism, and why the Cold War conflict — which was never resolved — remains a central issue for America to this day.
In the five-part series that features insight from scholars, archivists, and military personnel, Baier recounts everything from Truman's test, to MacArthur's gambit, to Mao's counter-attack, to Stalin's stalemate, to Kim's dynasty.
9. Washington Declaration Shores Up U.S. Security Commitments to South Korea
Sanctions.
Washington Declaration Shores Up U.S. Security Commitments to South Korea
fdd.org · by Jack Sullivan · April 28, 2023
April 28, 2023 | Policy Brief
Anthony Ruggiero
Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program Senior Director and Senior Fellow
Andrea Stricker
Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program Deputy Director and Research Fellow
The United States and the Republic of Korea (ROK) released a statement they called the Washington Declaration on Wednesday during the state visit of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol to the White House. The agreement strengthens the U.S. nuclear umbrella and security commitment to the ROK at a time when North Korea is expanding its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs and threatening a preemptive nuclear strike.
The declaration coincided with celebrations to mark the 70th anniversary of the U.S.-ROK alliance. Both sides committed “to develop an ever-stronger mutual defense relationship and affirm in the strongest words possible their commitment to the combined defense posture under the U.S.-ROK Mutual Defense Treaty.”
Notably, South Korea reaffirmed “full confidence in U.S. extended deterrence commitments” and recognized “the importance, necessity, and benefit of its enduring reliance on the U.S. nuclear deterrent.”
Crucially, President Yoon also “reaffirmed the ROK’s longstanding commitment to its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.” In January, President Yoon suggested that Seoul may consider developing its own nuclear weapons to deter North Korea’s mounting nuclear, missile, and military threats. Pyongyang tested an estimated 26 missiles during the first quarter of 2023 alone and carried out more missile tests in 2022 than in any other calendar year. North Korea is also increasing the quantity and quality of its nuclear weapons arsenal.
The White House backed up Washington’s commitment to Seoul, noting that “any nuclear attack by the DPRK against the ROK will be met with a swift, overwhelming and decisive response.” In a press conference with Yoon, President Joe Biden was blunt in declaring that any nuclear attack by North Korea against the United States or its allies would “result in the end” of the Pyongyang regime.
The declaration also committed the two sides to “deeper, cooperative decision-making on nuclear deterrence” and announced “the establishment of a new Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) to strengthen extended deterrence, discuss nuclear and strategic planning, and manage the threat from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).” The U.S. and ROK have also “established a new bilateral, interagency table-top simulation” for planning on nuclear contingencies.
Finally, the United States will send a “nuclear ballistic missile submarine to the ROK” in a show of strength and deterrence against North Korean provocations. The visit will be the first of its kind since the 1980s. While the declaration does not explicitly mention China, it refers twice to changing threats and peace and security in the Indo-Pacific, suggesting the submarine visit may also be a U.S. message to Beijing.
The Washington Declaration is a positive step in easing ROK security concerns, but it does not address North Korea’s expanding nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. The administration should immediately implement U.S. congressionally mandated sanctions that were passed by large bipartisan majorities.
Washington’s North Korea sanctions have atrophied since 2018, when then President Donald Trump embraced summit level diplomacy with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Biden’s sanctions on Pyongyang have been infrequent and ineffective in targeting the facilitators and sources of the Kim regime’s revenue, such as Chinese individuals, entities, and banks.
To ensure that the allies prevent another war on the Korean peninsula, Washington must take the lead in reimposing sanctions on the Kim regime.
Anthony Ruggiero is a senior fellow and senior director of the nonproliferation and biodefense program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and served as the National Security Council’s senior director for counterproliferation and biodefense in the Trump administration. Andrea Stricker is a research fellow and deputy director of the program. For more analysis from the authors and FDD, please subscribe HERE. Follow Anthony and Andrea on Twitter @NatSecAnthony and @StrickerNonpro. Follow FDD on Twitter @FDD. FDD is a Washington, DC-based, nonpartisan research institute focused on national security and foreign policy.
fdd.org · by Jack Sullivan · April 28, 2023
10. S. Korea’s GDP per capita is overtaken by Taiwan
S. Korea’s GDP per capita is overtaken by Taiwan
donga.com
Posted May. 02, 2023 07:54,
Updated May. 02, 2023 07:54
S. Korea’s GDP per capita is overtaken by Taiwan. May. 02, 2023 07:54. .
The Taiwanese National Statistics announced that the country’s GDP per capita exceeded that of South Korea for the first time in 18 years. While both countries have semiconductors as their biggest export items, it is the result of more robust sales of application-specific integrated circuits, in which Taiwan holds the world’s No. 1 position, and recession for semiconductor memory, which is the field where South Korea is ranked No. 1 in the world.
Last year, Taiwan’s GDP per capita was 32,811 dollars, 1.8 percent higher than South Korea’s 32,237 dollars. The Taiwanese National Statistics pointed outstanding performance of the semiconductor industry and proactive changes made by companies as reasons to overtake South Korea’s GDP per capita for the first time since 2004. While South Korea achieved an annual average growth rate of 2.6 percent for the past 10 years, Taiwan grew 3.2 percent on average per year thanks to its improved industrial competitiveness.
TSMC, a well-known Taiwanese company, has a market share of almost 60 percent in the global foundry field, which is more than three times higher than the market share of Samsung Electronics, which is ranked in second place in the industry. The market cap of TSMC exceeded that of its South Korean counterparts at the end of 2019. Such a gap between the two countries’ major export companies is directly reflected in their trade balance and national income. South Korea recorded a trade deficit of 47.8 billion dollars last year due to the recession of the Chinese manufacturing industry, which used to purchase 40 percent of South Korean semiconductors. Meanwhile, Taiwan recorded a trade surplus of 51.4 billion dollars thanks to system semiconductors’ export growth.
The growth of Taiwan, which was considered one of the Four Asian Tigers along with South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore in the 1970s to 1990s, slowed down after the dotcom bubble burst in the 2000s as its growth strategy focused on small and medium-sized companies faced challenges. However, the country bounced back as the Taiwanese government focused its support on semiconductor manufacturers, including TSMC. Taiwan nurtured talents by allowing semiconductor departments of universities to recruit new students every six months and developed more proactive support measures than South Korea by offering a 25 percent tax credit for investment in semiconductor-related research and development.
South Korea has recorded trade degrowth for seven consecutive months and trade deficits for 14 consecutive months. The biggest reason behind such poor performance is a 41 percent reduction in its semiconductor export due to the decreased global demand. Unless South Korean companies put an even bigger gap against their competitors in the foundry and other areas with aggressive investment and the government and political circles support them by mobilizing the country’s full capabilities, it will be hard to catch up with Taiwan again.
한국어
donga.com
11. S. Korea to release report on N. Korea's economic, social situations for 1st time
I will be looking for the English version of this. This could contribute to planning for internal sinterability and regime collapse.
S. Korea to release report on N. Korea's economic, social situations for 1st time | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · May 2, 2023
SEOUL, May 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's unification ministry said Tuesday it plans to publish a report on economic and social situations in North Korea for the first time in November to help better understand people's lives in the secretive regime.
The report will include statistical analysis on social and demographic features in North Korea, and show changes in the North's economic and social situations, based on testimonies from the North's defectors, according to the ministry.
Since 2010, the government has collected in-depth information about North Koreans' economic and social activities from around 6,000 North Korean defectors. The ministry has compiled related reports but not made them public so far.
The government will also seek to release an English version of the report for foreign readers.
In late March, the ministry publicly released a report on North Korea's human rights situations for the first time, highlighting widespread rights abuses, such as public executions and torture.
President Yoon Suk Yeol has stressed the need for letting the international community get to know about the dismal rights and living conditions facing North Koreans, as he has taken a hard-line stance against the North.
This undated image shows the logo of the Ministry of Unification. (Yonhap)
sooyeon@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 김수연 · May 2, 2023
12. U.S. remains fully committed to diplomacy with N. Korea: State Dept.
We must never give up on diplomacy. I truly hope I am wrong and Kim Jong Un will change his nature and come to the negotiating table and act as a responsible member of the international community and agrees to, and actually allows, denuclearization of the north . And even if he does not ,diplomacy must continue.
(LEAD) U.S. remains fully committed to diplomacy with N. Korea: State Dept. | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · May 2, 2023
(ATTN: UPDATES with additional remarks from the department spokesperson in last 4 paras)
By Byun Duk-kun
WASHINGTON, May 1 (Yonhap) -- The United States steadfastly remains committed to engaging in dialogue with North Korea, a state department spokesperson said Monday, after Pyongyang denounced the agreement reached by the leaders of South Korea and the U.S. on strengthening U.S. extended deterrence commitment to South Korea.
The North has argued the Washington Declaration issued last week by South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and U.S. President Joe Biden reflected the U.S.' "heinous hostile policy" toward North Korea while making "nuclear war" against North Korea a fact.
State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel is seen speaking during a daily press briefing at the department in Washington on May 1, 2023 in this captured image. (Yonhap)
"The important thing to remember here is that President Biden and President Yoon expressed a shared vision of a strong and deeply integrated U.S.-ROK alliance that maintains peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond," Vedant Patel, state department deputy spokesperson, said of the Washington Declaration, referring to South Korea by its official name, the Republic of Korea.
"The president (Biden) believes that the DPRK's efforts to advance its unlawful nuclear and ballistic missile capabilities, as well as its destabilizing and dangerous rhetoric, requires a series of prudent steps to strengthen deterrence. which we think are elaborated through the Washington Declaration," he added.
DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.
On Saturday (Korea time), North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's sister, Kim Yo-jong, argued the declaration reflected the "most hostile and aggressive will of action," warning that it will only make "peace and security of Northeast Asia and the world be exposed to more serious danger."
Patel pointed out that the leaders have also reaffirmed their commitment to engaging with North Korea.
"As the Washington Declaration so clearly states, both presidents -- President Biden and President Yoon -- remain steadfast in their pursuit of dialogue and diplomacy with the DPRK," he told a daily press briefing.
"We have a shared goal of complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," added Patel.
China, North Korea's closest ally, has also criticized the Washington Declaration, with its state media pointing to possible retaliation by China, Russia and North Korea against South Korea.
Patel said Beijing must not turn this into "something that is not" when asked about possible Chinese retaliation against South Korea.
"Our relationship and alliance with the ROK is deep-rooted. As you know we celebrated the 70th anniversary of relations with the Republic of Korea," he told the press briefing, referring to Yoon's state visit that ended on Saturday.
"So there's no reason for the PRC to overreact or to turn this into something that it is not," he added, referring to China by its formal name, the People's Republic of China.
bdk@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 변덕근 · May 2, 2023
13. A Brutal Sex Trade Built for American Soldiers (Korea)
A sad story of Korean-American relations and the effects of the US military presence.
But why did not the New York Times have to publish this right after the recent summit? What effect are the editors trying to achieve with the timing of the publication of this article?
A Brutal Sex Trade Built for American Soldiers
The New York Times · by Choe Sang-Hun · May 2, 2023
It’s a long-buried part of South Korean history: women compelled by force, trickery or desperation into prostitution, with the complicity of their own leaders.
- Send any friend a story
- As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share.
In Dongducheon, South Korea, north of Seoul, women forced to work as prostitutes to American soldiers in the decades after the Korean War were confined in this building when they were discovered to have a sexually transmitted disease.
By
Photographs by Jean Chung
Choe Sang-Hun examined unsealed government documents and interviewed six women who worked in camp towns around American military bases in South Korea for this article.
May 2, 2023, 5:00 a.m. ET
DONGDUCHEON, South Korea — When Cho Soon-ok was 17 in 1977, three men kidnapped and sold her to a pimp in Dongducheon, a town north of Seoul.
She was about to begin high school, but instead of pursuing her dream of becoming a ballerina, she was forced to spend the next five years under the constant watch of her pimp, going to a nearby club for sex work. Her customers: American soldiers.
The euphemism “comfort women” typically describes Korean and other Asian women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese during World War II. But the sexual exploitation of another group of women continued in South Korea long after Japan’s colonial rule ended in 1945 — and it was facilitated by their own government.
There were “special comfort women units” for South Korean soldiers, and “comfort stations” for American-led U.N. troops during the Korean War. In the postwar years, many of these women worked in gijichon, or “camp towns,” built around American military bases.
Last September, 100 such women won a landmark victory when the South Korean Supreme Court ordered compensation for the sexual trauma they endured. It found the government guilty of “justifying and encouraging” prostitution in camp towns to help South Korea maintain its military alliance with the United States and earn American dollars.
Cho Soon-ok, a former comfort woman for the G.I.s, inside the former detention center in Dongducheon.
Park Geun-ae, another former comfort woman, weeps as she recalls her experiences.
It also blamed the government for the “systematic and violent” way it detained the women and forced them to receive treatment for sexually transmitted diseases.
In interviews with The New York Times, six former South Korean camp town women described how their government used them for political and economic gain before abandoning them. Encouraged by the court rulings — which relied on recently unsealed official documents — the victims now aim to take their case to the United States.
“The Americans need to know what some of their soldiers did to us,” said Park Geun-ae, who was sold to a pimp in 1975, when she was 16, and said she endured severe beatings and other abuse from G.I.s. “Our country held hands with the U.S. in an alliance and we knew that its soldiers were here to help us, but that didn’t mean that they could do whatever they wanted to us, did it?”
‘Frontline Warriors in Winning Dollars’
South Korea’s history of sexual exploitation is not always openly discussed. When a sociologist, Kim Gwi-ok, began reporting on wartime comfort women for the South Korean military in the early 2000s, citing documents from the South Korean Army, the government had the documents sealed.
“They feared that Japan’s right wing would use it to help whitewash its own comfort women history,” said Ms. Kim, referring to historical feuds between Seoul and Tokyo over sexual slavery.
In the aftermath of the Korean War, South Korea trailed the North in military and economic power. American troops stayed in the South under the U.N. flag to guard against the North, but South Korea struggled to keep U.S. boots on the ground.
In 1961, Gyeonggi Province, the populous area surrounding Seoul, considered it “urgent to prepare mass facilities for comfort women to provide comfort for U.N. troops or boost their morale,” according to documents submitted to the court as evidence. The local government gave permits to private clubs to recruit such women to “save budget and earn foreign currency.” It estimated the number of comfort women in its jurisdiction at 10,000 and growing, catering to 50,000 American troops.
A bedroom where women who tested positive for sexually transmitted diseases were kept in the former detention center in Dongducheon.
A street in “Dongducheon Special Tourist Zone for Foreigners.” Once, the area was filled with clubs and brothels catering to U.S. soldiers.
When President Richard M. Nixon announced plans in 1969 to reduce the number of U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, the government’s effort took on more urgency. The following year, the government reported to Parliament that South Korea was earning $160 million annually through business resulting from the U.S. military presence, including the sex trade. (The country’s total exports at the time were $835 million.)
Some of the women gravitated to camp towns to find a living. Others, like Ms. Cho, were abducted, or lured with the promise of work. A sex act typically cost between $5 and $10 — money the pimps confiscated. Although the dollars didn’t go directly to the government, they entered the economy, which was starved for hard currency.
A South Korean newspaper at the time called such women an “illegal, cancer-like, necessary evil.” But “these comfort women are also frontline warriors in winning dollars,” it said.
Often, newcomers were drugged by their pimps to cope with the shame.
Numbers and Name Tags
Society mostly dismissed such women as yanggalbo, or “whores for the West,” part of the price of maintaining the U.S. military presence in the country after the war.
“The officials who called us patriots sneered behind our back, calling us ‘dollar-earning machines,’” Ms. Park said.
Prostitution was and remains illegal in South Korea, but enforcement has been selective and varied in harshness over time. Camp towns were created in part to confine the women so they could be more easily monitored, and to prevent prostitution and sex crimes involving American G.I.s from spreading to the rest of society. Black markets thrived there as South Koreans clamored for goods smuggled out of U.S. military post-exchange operations, as well as foreign currency.
In 1973, when U.S. military and South Korean officials met to discuss issues in camp towns, a U.S. Army officer said that the Army policy on prostitution was “total suppression,” but “this is not being done in Korea,” according to declassified U.S. military documents.
Instead, the U.S. military focused on protecting troops from contracting venereal disease.
In this 1971 municipal ordinance, Euijeongbu City, north of Seoul, ordered the establishment of a clinic to confine infected women. It says the clinic must seek police help if the women refused to be detained for treatment.Credit...South Korean government archives
This 1969 ordinance from the health ministry calls for “frequent” and “coercive diagnosis and treatment” to fight sexually transmitted disease among prostitutes catering to American troops.Credit...South Korean government archives
A joint meeting of U.S. military and South Korean officials in 1973 discussed various measures to control venereal disease in communities adjacent to military bases.Credit...South Korean government archives
Health officials in Gyeonggi Province in 1961 discuss allowing clubs to hire “comfort women” to “earn foreign currency,” as well as to “enhance the morale” of U.S. troops and “improve their perceptions of South Korea.”Credit...South Korean government archives
The women described how they were gathered for monthly classes where South Korean officials praised them as “dollar-earning patriots” while U.S. officers urged them to avoid sexually transmitted diseases. The women had to be tested twice a week; those testing positive were detained for medical treatment.
Under rules U.S. military and South Korean officials worked out, camp town women had to carry registration and V.D. test cards and to wear numbered badges or name tags, according to unsealed documents and former comfort women.
The U.S. military conducted routine inspections at the camp town clubs, keeping photo files of the women at base clinics to help infected soldiers identify contacts. The detained included not only women found to be infected, but also those identified as contacts or those lacking a valid test card during random inspections.
They were held in facilities with barred windows and heavily dosed with penicillin. The women interviewed by The Times all remembered these places with dread, recalling colleagues who collapsed or died from penicillin shock.
Shame, Silence and Even Death
South Korea has never come to terms with the story of its camp town women, in part because of the steadfast alliance between Seoul and Washington. The subject remains far more taboo than discussions of the women forced into sexual slavery by Japan.
“We were just like comfort women for the Japanese military,” Ms. Cho said. “They had to take Japanese soldiers and we American G.I.s.”
None of the government documents unsealed in recent years revealed any evidence to suggest that South Korea was directly involved in recruiting the women for American troops, unlike many women forced into sexual slavery under Japanese occupation.
But unlike the victims of the Japanese military — honored as symbols of Korea’s suffering under colonial rule — these women say they have had to live in shame and silence.
This spot in Dongducheon holds graves of people who died in the town and whose bodies were not claimed by relatives, and is the area where the women interviewed by The Times for this article said some of their fellow prostitutes ended up. The notices were put up by the municipal government.
A barbed-wire wall around Camp Casey, in Dongducheon.
South Koreans began to pay more attention to the issue of sexual exploitation in camp towns after a woman named Yun Geum-i was brutally sexually assaulted and viciously murdered by an American soldier in 1992.
Between 1960 and 2004, American soldiers were found guilty of killing 11 sex workers in South Korea, according to a list compiled by the advocacy group Saewoomtuh.
The U.S. military declined to comment on the Supreme Court ruling or the women’s claims. “We do not condone any type of behavior that violates South Korean laws, rules or directives and have implemented good order and discipline measures,” its spokesman, Col. Isaac Taylor, said by email.
A Legacy of Pain
Camp towns faded with South Korea’s rapid economic development.
Though former camp town women want to bring their case to the United States, their legal strategy there is unclear, as is what recourse they may find.
In a psychiatric report that Ms. Park submitted to the South Korean court in 2021 as evidence, she compared her life with “walking constantly on thin ice” out of fear that others might learn about her past. Her arms and thighs show scars from self-inflicted wounds.
Park Geun-ae showing the scars from self-inflicted wounds.
Choi Gwi-ja, another former comfort woman, said that she and other women endured multiple abortions because of the deep prejudice against biracial children in South Korea.
Under the South Korean court ruling, Ms. Park and others were each paid between $2,270 and $5,300, which did little to ease their financial distress.
Choi Gwi-ja, 77, fought back tears when she described multiple abortions she and other women endured because of the prejudice against biracial children in South Korea. Her voice quavered recalling women who killed themselves after G.I.s who had taken them as common-law wives subsequently abandoned them and their children.
She recalled how officials once urged the women, many of them illiterate like her, to earn dollars, promising them free apartments in their old age if they would sell their bodies for money at the camp towns. “It was all a fraud,” she said.
The New York Times · by Choe Sang-Hun · May 2, 2023
14. Persuading the people matters for diplomacy
Excerpts:
In the meantime, China tries to weaken the Korea-U.S. alliance after imposing economic sanctions on the South for the Thaad deployment to defend itself from North Korea’s missile attacks. U.S. politicians are rushing to “China bashing,” while Chinese President Xi Jinping vows to unify Taiwan within his term, intensifying the Sino-U.S. confrontation. As there is no military dialogue between Washington and Beijing, any accidental clash can escalate into a war beyond control.
Under such precarious circumstances, South Korea is compelled to choose between America and China on both the security and economic fronts. The Yoon Suk Yeol administration chose the diplomatic path of strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance, improving Korea-Japan relations and pushing for a global pivot state, while pursuing reciprocal relations with China. If so, the government must explain to the people why the choice is better than others. In other words, the government must convince the people of the justification for the superiority of its current diplomatic stance over the past one prioritizing China over the U.S. The divisive political battle among politicians over President Yoon’s visit to the U.S. owes much to a critical dearth of government efforts to persuade the public about the new direction of its diplomacy. Without changing its communication strategy primarily based on self-justification, only peripheral political attacks without substance will sweep the political stage for the time being.
Tuesday
May 2, 2023
dictionary + A - A
Persuading the people matters for diplomacy
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/05/02/opinion/columns/Yoon-Suk-Yeol-diplomacy-visit/20230502202157624.html
Yoon Young-kwan
The author, a former foreign minister, is an emeritus professor at Seoul National University.
Many important agreements were made in the recent South Korea-U.S. summit in Washington, which was marked by the warm U.S. hospitality toward President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Over the most volatile nuclear threats from North Korea, the two sides agreed to establish a standing Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) to ensure that the Pentagon shares information on operating its nuclear weapons with South Korea and allows the ally to participate in the planning stage when needed. Most of all, Washington agreed to increase the deployment of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines to the Korean Peninsula and more regular deployments of U.S. strategic assets, including carrier strike groups, to South Korea so that its people can be assured of the U.S.’s rock-solid determination to deter North Korean provocations. In a rare move, U.S. President Joe Biden warned that it will be the end of the Pyongyang regime if it uses nuclear weapons against South Korea or the U.S. Could Uncle Sam really ease South Koreans’ security concerns once and for all? It largely depends on how successfully the NCG will reflect demands from South Korea in its upcoming meetings.
Both sides also agreed to efficiently merge South Korea’s conventional weapons capability to their joint military strategy planning as part of the Pentagon’s Integrated Deterrence. Given the diluted effect of sanctions due to North Korea’s cyberhacking, the two allies’ cooperation on cybersecurity technology, policy, strategy and information sharing should be welcomed.
The agreement to launch a dialogue for next-gen emerging and core technologies for second battery, bio, digital and quantum fronts also carries great significance. As Yoon’s presidential office and the White House promised to directly command the cooperation, it will help escalate the military alliance to a technology alliance to develop our cutting-edge technology. The question is how to reduce the heavy burden on our chipmakers and carmakers from the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPSand Science Act in the U.S.
Overall, the summit was successful. But what is very important for the executive branch in a democracy is to effectively promote its policy or diplomatic achievements. If a government scores the full 10 points in diplomacy, it can be seen as a performance of 15 points or five points depending on the promotion of its diplomatic accomplishments. What matters is a government effectively convincing the people of the justification for its diplomatic choice.
Only five to six years ago, no one knew international politics will change as drastically as today. At that time, Russia threatened the security of Ukraine by mobilizing pro-Russian rebels in East Ukraine, but stopped short of invading the neighbor. In the Korean Peninsula, the PyeongChang Winter Olympics fanned hopes for denuclearization and peace. The advent of the Trump presidency in America sounded loud alarms on political and diplomatic stages, yet he didn’t abandon engagement policy with China entirely. Thanks to the developments, South Korea could have some room for diplomatic maneuvers with its ambiguous strategy of “balanced diplomacy” and “security with the U.S. and economy with China.” But not anymore.
After the invasion of Ukraine, Russia threatened to use nuclear weapons — an international taboo for decades — on its neighbor. The war could drag on until the end of 2024. Coupled with the energy crisis, food shortage, and supply chain disruptions, the global recession will continue. If Russia wins the war, the rules-based international order — a foundation for Korea’s economic development and democratic transition — will be broken and headed to the new world of power-based justice. Meanwhile, North Korea threatens to turn South Korea into ashes with missiles tipped with miniaturized nuclear warheads. In a recent meeting at Harvard University, security experts reached the consensus that North Korea aims to possess up to 300 nuclear weapons like the UK or France.
In the meantime, China tries to weaken the Korea-U.S. alliance after imposing economic sanctions on the South for the Thaad deployment to defend itself from North Korea’s missile attacks. U.S. politicians are rushing to “China bashing,” while Chinese President Xi Jinping vows to unify Taiwan within his term, intensifying the Sino-U.S. confrontation. As there is no military dialogue between Washington and Beijing, any accidental clash can escalate into a war beyond control.
Under such precarious circumstances, South Korea is compelled to choose between America and China on both the security and economic fronts. The Yoon Suk Yeol administration chose the diplomatic path of strengthening the Korea-U.S. alliance, improving Korea-Japan relations and pushing for a global pivot state, while pursuing reciprocal relations with China. If so, the government must explain to the people why the choice is better than others. In other words, the government must convince the people of the justification for the superiority of its current diplomatic stance over the past one prioritizing China over the U.S. The divisive political battle among politicians over President Yoon’s visit to the U.S. owes much to a critical dearth of government efforts to persuade the public about the new direction of its diplomacy. Without changing its communication strategy primarily based on self-justification, only peripheral political attacks without substance will sweep the political stage for the time being.
Translation by the Korea JoongAng Daily staff.
15. South Korea's Yoon says nuclear group upgrades U.S. alliance
President Yoon and his administration are executing their strategic communications plan. The first task of the new Nuclear Consultative Group (NCG) is to develop a strategic communications plan to inform, educate, and influence the ROK and US publics to properly understand the mission of the NCG.
South Korea's Yoon says nuclear group upgrades U.S. alliance
Reuters · by Hyonhee Shin
SEOUL, May 2 (Reuters) - South Korea has upgraded its U.S. alliance, President Yoon Suk Yeol said on Tuesday, as he briefed his cabinet on a trip to the United States which pledged more South Korean insight into nuclear planning in the event of war with North Korea.
Yoon held a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington last week as anxiety grows in South Korea over North Korea's rapidly evolving nuclear and missile capabilities and growing doubts that the U.S. would risk its security to help its Asian ally.
Calls have been growing in South Korea, even among some senior members of Yoon's party, for it to develop its own nuclear weapons. The U.S. opposes that, assuring South Korea of protection under the U.S. "nuclear umbrella".
"The alliance has a nuclear-based upgrade and has expanded to include supply chain, industrial and science and technology alliances," Yoon told his cabinet.
Yoon and Biden agreed in a "Washington Declaration" to launch a Nuclear Consultative Group to give South Korea more insight into, and a voice in, U.S. contingency planning to deter and respond to any nuclear incident in the region.
They also agreed on new partnerships on supply chains and science and technology, including cyber security, electric vehicles and batteries, quantum technology, foreign assistance and economic investment. Yoon said the nuclear planning mechanism would be more effective than NATO's Nuclear Planning Group by facilitating more frequent high-level bilateral discussions.
More U.S. "strategic assets" would be regularly deployed to South Korea to maintain an "overwhelming retaliatory posture", he said.
"We will build strong security, peace based on overwhelming strength, not the fake peace that relies on the good faith of the other party," Yoon said.
Some South Koreans, especially younger voters, have welcomed the summit's achievements, including Yoon's speech to the U.S. Congress and surprise singing at a White House state dinner.
But the opposition Democratic Party criticised a lack of progress on new U.S. rules on electric vehicle subsidies, which South Korea fears could hurt its automakers.
A Democratic Party spokesperson said Yoon "only sang a song at the world's most expensive karaoke" in return for billions of dollars of South Korean corporate investment.
Yoon's approval ratings slightly rose to 34.5%, a poll released on Monday by Realmeter showed, marking their first rebound in four weeks.
Reporting by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Christian Schmollinger
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Reuters · by Hyonhee Shin
16. 'USFK bullets' found in Seoul turn out to be fake
Hmmm... I always carry fake bullets in my wallet.
'USFK bullets' found in Seoul turn out to be fake | Yonhap News Agency
en.yna.co.kr · by 유청모 · May 2, 2023
SEOUL, May 2 (Yonhap) -- Two gun bullets found in western Seoul last week have been confirmed to be fake, police said Tuesday.
The bullets discovered by a passerby at the entrance of a household goods store in the Yeonhui-dong district on April 25 drew media attention, as some police officials said they are presumed to be used in U.S. Forces Korea firearms.
But the Seoul Seodaemun Police Station said it has been notified by the military authorities that the bullets are mock-ups, not live ammunition used in real firearms.
The fake bullets fell from the wallet of a male customer of the store.
Police plan to close the case without booking the customer, as the fake bullets alone are unlikely to pose a threat to people. The nation's gun control law prohibits the manufacture, sale and possession of even mock guns.
A photo of the Seoul Seodaemun Police Station provided by Yonhap News TV (Yonhap)
ycm@yna.co.kr
(END)
en.yna.co.kr · by 유청모 · May 2, 2023
17. Sexual Facebook post spurs UN Command to review its social media policies
I hope no one overreacts to this. Sometimes people do stupid things. Correct the issues, apologize, and more on. But incidents such as this give ammunition to the anti-influence factions within our military and government. The only reason this will stay in the news cycle more than a day is because I am forwarding it.
Sexual Facebook post spurs UN Command to review its social media policies
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · May 1, 2023
The U.N. Command is reviewing its social media policies after a short, sexually suggestive post was published recently on the organization's official Facebook page. (Pixabay)
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea — The U.N. Command is reviewing its social media policies after a short, sexually suggestive post was published recently on the organization's official Facebook page.
The post — “Make love to me …” — appeared around midnight March 24. By mid-morning the message had disappeared.
The post “was made unrelated to the mission and goals of our command,” Army Col. Isaac Taylor, who also serves as spokesman for U.S. Forces Korea, said in a statement emailed to Stars and Stripes on Wednesday.
"We are reviewing and updating our current practices and security protocols to ensure it does not happen again,” he wrote.
Taylor’s email did not answer questions about who was responsible for the post and whether any disciplinary actions were taken. Speaking by phone Monday, he said the investigation into the incident is ongoing.
The U.N. Command’s Facebook account has around 13,000 followers and posts news and information about its activities and history.
“To the followers of the Facebook page, we thank you for choosing us as your trusted source for content related to the amazing work and history of the [command’s] member states here on the Korean Peninsula,” Taylor’s statement added.
The message was posted on Facebook as U.S. and South Korean troops carried out the large-scale Ssangyong maritime exercise in South Korea between March 20 and April 3. The allies also conducted large, joint training that included live-fire artillery drills and tabletop simulations throughout March.
The multinational U.N. Command was formed roughly a month after North Korean forces invaded the South on June 25, 1950. Sixteen countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, supplied military aid for the war effort. Denmark, India, Italy, Norway and Sweden sent medical aid.
The Korean War came to a standstill in 1953 after an armistice was signed between the U.N. Command, North Korea and China on July 27.
The U.N. Command is still responsible for enforcing the armistice and responding to conflict on the Korean Peninsula. The command is led by Army Gen. Paul LaCamera, who is also required to lead U.S. Forces Korea and the Combined Forces Command.
U.N. Command is headquartered in Camp Humphreys, the largest U.S. military base overseas, roughly 40 miles south of Seoul.
David Choi
David Choi
David Choi is based in South Korea and reports on the U.S. military and foreign policy. He served in the U.S. Army and California Army National Guard. He graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Subscribe to Stars and Stripes
Just 99c a week! Subscribe
stars and stripes videos
around the web
Stars and Stripes · by David Choi · May 1, 2023
18. Without domestic support, foreign policy fails
True,
Excerpts:
Yoon caused an uproar from his critics for opposing an outright demand for Tokyo to kneel over what it did a century ago. Sentiment in Korea could change sharply if Kishida offers to kneel hundred or thousand times until Koreans forgive Japan. It would be a reciprocal gesture towards President Yoon who did his best to improve their future relationship. In December 1970, German chancellor Willy Brandt knelt before the memorial to the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland like a sinner. Germany prompted two world wars, but it had regained international trust by repeating apologies with sincerity. It unified itself and became a leader of Europe. Japan must go down the same path.
Foreign policy is an extension of domestic politics. Without internal support, no foreign policy can succeed. It is important to draw a comprehensive impetus to push ahead with the policies through persuasion at home. Kim Dae-jung was a president for the liberal front, but he had appointed far-right Kang In-duck as his first unification minister. The former president retained most of the Blue House staff of his predecessor from the rivaling party. Hans-Dietrich Genscher was a member of the liberal Free Democratic Party, a third party in West Germany, but he had served as ministers of the interior and foreign affairs under two difference chancellors of West Germany and became the longest serving cabinet member in the country. He helped to midwife the German union. Yoon must learn from them.
The president may be tempted to replay the scenes of the cheers of the Congress. But he must put them behind and draw support from his own people. A foreign policy without domestic support is like a tree without roots. Diplomacy cannot stand if it does not have the backing at the home turf.
Tuesday
May 2, 2023
dictionary + A - A
Without domestic support, foreign policy fails
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/2023/05/02/opinion/columns/domestic-support-foreign-policy-diplomacy/20230502202357486.html
Lee Ha-kyung
The author is a senior columnist of the JoongAng Ilbo.
President Yoon Suk Yeol’s address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress last week was beyond expectations. His 43-minute speech — quite flawlessly delivered in English — brought 500 plus members of the House and Senate to their feet 23 times with roaring cheers and claps of approval. President Yoon casually joked “BTS beat me to the White House, but I beat them to Capitol Hill.” He was accompanied by the heads of Korean corporations Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and SK, who had pledged billions of dollars of investment in America, during his state visit to the U.S.
The moment captures the stunning escalation of Korea’s standing in the 70-year history of bilateral alliance since the signing of the Korea-U.S. Mutual Defense Treaty in 1953. U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy welcomed Yoon to the podium for taking a “historical step” in the bilateral relations.
The U.S. is an ally South Korean presidents must pay utmost attention to. U.S. President Harry Truman bypassed the usual procedure of asking Congressional approval for the declaration of war and immediately sent troops to South Korea when North Korea invaded the South on June 25, 1950. U.S. forces under Gen. Douglas MacArthur administering postwar Japan during the Allied occupation arrived at Suwon on June 29. After watching South Korean soldiers with no weapons in their hands trying to defend against the flood of invaders, the American war hero vowed to defend the country as if it had been his own. He pleaded with the U.S. to send more weapons and firearms as they were fighting with fists. The battalions under Col. Smith were immediately dispatched to South Korea as the first American-led ground troops followed by the sending of two Army divisions.
When the war turned unpredictable due to China’s intervention in December 1950, British prime minister Clement Attlee urged Truman to give up the war in Korea and concentrate U.S. forces on defending Europe. But Truman vehemently resisted. Battling with the 300,000 Chinese soldiers in the Battle of Chosin Reservoir in freezing cold weather was like a living hell. Injured American soldiers pleaded to return to the battlefield. The Korea-U.S. alliance was forged just like that seven decades ago.
Yoon’s seven-day state visit to the U.S. has helped restore the mutual trust that was shaken under the previous government. The U.S. has proposed to create a permanent Nuclear Consultative Group, the first of its kind in Asia, to discuss deterrence capabilities and strategy. Those who called for South Korea’s own nuclear armaments or the redeployment of U.S. tactical weapons could be discontent. But the establishment of such a defense mechanism could be the first meaningful step to deal with a nuclear-armed North Korea.
President Yoon Suk Yeol, center, waves to members of the U.S. Congress after finishing a 43-minute speech, April 27, during his seven-day state visit to the United States.
The Yoon administration must work equally hard to persuade the public to share his diplomatic achievements in the U.S. and draw public support. It must move closer to the majority Democratic Party. The opposition party is meant to oppose. Its role is to raise different voices to the government. At the same time, the opposition can compensate for the imperfectness of the governing power. A democracy is not complete without the opposition. The government cannot materialize any of the agreements with the U.S. without the support from the majority party in the National Assembly.
President Yoon has been criticized for “shaming the country” and returning “empty-handed” from his summit in Tokyo and Washington. Opponents attack the president for drawing too little from the summits in return for his generous offerings. Korean companies have invested greatly in the U.S. and helped create a lot of jobs there. But the U.S. has not made any concessions for Korean companies in the Inflation Reduction Act and the CHIPS and Science Act. An American reporter even asked Biden why Washington was causing damage to its core ally. The U.S. must demonstrate goodwill through its follow-up actions.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida will pay a visit to Seoul this Sunday. Yoon broke the diplomatic deadlock between the two countries by offering to compensate for the wartime forced labor through a ‘third-party’ solution before his visit to Tokyo. It is time for Kishida to return the goodwill. At the very least, he must express an apology in the deepest form.
Yoon caused an uproar from his critics for opposing an outright demand for Tokyo to kneel over what it did a century ago. Sentiment in Korea could change sharply if Kishida offers to kneel hundred or thousand times until Koreans forgive Japan. It would be a reciprocal gesture towards President Yoon who did his best to improve their future relationship. In December 1970, German chancellor Willy Brandt knelt before the memorial to the Warsaw Ghetto in Poland like a sinner. Germany prompted two world wars, but it had regained international trust by repeating apologies with sincerity. It unified itself and became a leader of Europe. Japan must go down the same path.
Foreign policy is an extension of domestic politics. Without internal support, no foreign policy can succeed. It is important to draw a comprehensive impetus to push ahead with the policies through persuasion at home. Kim Dae-jung was a president for the liberal front, but he had appointed far-right Kang In-duck as his first unification minister. The former president retained most of the Blue House staff of his predecessor from the rivaling party. Hans-Dietrich Genscher was a member of the liberal Free Democratic Party, a third party in West Germany, but he had served as ministers of the interior and foreign affairs under two difference chancellors of West Germany and became the longest serving cabinet member in the country. He helped to midwife the German union. Yoon must learn from them.
The president may be tempted to replay the scenes of the cheers of the Congress. But he must put them behind and draw support from his own people. A foreign policy without domestic support is like a tree without roots. Diplomacy cannot stand if it does not have the backing at the home turf.
De Oppresso Liber,
David Maxwell
Vice President, Center for Asia Pacific Strategy
Senior Fellow, Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Senior Fellow, Global Peace Foundation
Editor, Small Wars Journal
Twitter: @davidmaxwell161
Phone: 202-573-8647
email: david.maxwell161@gmail.com
| 
