Moon Jae-in hesitant to raise voice against Trump
By Yi Whan-woo
The Moon Jae-in administration is remaining cautious about raising its voice against U.S. President Donald Trump’s hinting at military options against North Korea.
Moon has repeatedly called for a diplomatic approach to resolve the North Korea nuclear issue, but the general consensus here is that his view is being ignored by the Trump administration.
On Tuesday, Moon said the current regional situation was “not favorable for us.”
“The country has no power to resolve the current crisis or help relevant sides seek an agreement,” he noted.
On the same day, the U.S. Air Force, for the second time this year, secretly dispatched B-1B strategic bombers to the peninsula at night while Trump was monitoring their flight at the White House and receiving reports accordingly.
During a National Assembly audit, Thursday, Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha reiterated the view that Seoul and Washington are working “closer than ever” to better deal with the serious and urgent nature of North Korea’s nuclear threats.
She did not provide specific diplomatic methods to resolve the crisis amid the U.S. move to dispatch two aircraft carriers — the USS Ronald Reagan and USS Theodore Roosevelt — to waters off the peninsula.
North Korea reacted angrily, calling the U.S. move “dangerous and reckless.”
Analysts said they are concerned about Seoul’s lack of competence to come up with a diplomatic solution to replace military options being pursued by Washington.
They said there was “not much room for South Korean diplomacy to intervene,” claiming the escalated tension on the peninsula has become a “security matter between the U.S. and North Korea” rather than between the two Koreas.
“The Trump administration is considering military action because North Korea’s rapid advance in nuclear and ballistic missile technology is ultimately aimed at striking the U.S.,” said Kwak Jin-o, a senior researcher at the Northeast Asian History Foundation. “The U.S. is dealing with its own national security and it isn’t appropriate for us to meddle and suggest diplomatic solutions.”
Kwak pointed out Trump’s opposition to the possibility of talks with North Korea after his secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, said last week that Washington had direct lines of communication with Pyongyang and was “probing” to settle the tension between the two sides.
“It would be seen as interference in domestic affairs if the Moon administration complained about the escalating tension and asked the Trump government to refrain from using military options,” Kwak said.
Shin In-kyun, president of the Korea Defense Network, agreed.
“The military options are not about South Korea. It’s about the U.S. We can’t stand in for U.S. national security unless we are diplomatically capable of resolving the North Korean nuclear crisis,” he said. “The matter is out of the hands of President Moon and Foreign Minister Kang. I bet even former U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would not be able to handle the matter.”
Kwak proposed the Moon government “wait patiently” and avoid any misunderstandings regarding the Seoul-Washington alliance.
Shin said South Korea, if necessary, should join the U.S. in exercising military options to some extent. He also said “drawing a line” in any use of military force against North Korea could also be an option.
“The U.S. understands the unique relationship between the two Koreas,” he said.