Did Moon OK it?
By Oh Young-jin
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Did President Moon Jae-in give the green light to a dangerous flyby of U.S. strategic bombers along North Korea’s east coast?
If he okayed it, did he think of the consequences?
The presidential office said that during his trip to New York for a speech at the United Nations, Moon was consulted about the flight _ an all-American formation of two B1B Lancer strategic bombers, originating from Guam in the Pacific, escorted by six F-15C fighters from Kadena, Japan.
The flight was conducted in the middle of the night and took a U-shaped path off the east coast, which the Pentagon said had gone farthest above the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), the inter-Korean border, than ever before in the 21st century. It was a boast that could kill a lot of Koreans. Already, the North Korea said that it was a U.S. declaration of war, which the U.S. denied. But it is seen as tossup how this situation will develop.
Although the mission occurred outside the North Korean territorial waters supposedly outside the range of its surface to air missiles, it could have entailed close calls that could easily turn into a full-fledged shooting war.
The flight came against the background that the peninsula is turned into a powder keg made bone dry by the North-U.S. verbal battles.
First, in New York, U.S. President Donald Trump mocked North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a “rocket man” who was on a suicidal mission facing total destruction if his country continued to threaten the U.S. and its allies.
In Pyongyang, Kim arranged a press conference to speak in kind, calling Trump a “deranged dotard” and threatening nuclear attacks on the U.S. The North’s Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho took the U.N. podium to attack Trump with graphic descriptions.
President Moon was the only sober voice, using the word, peace, more than 30 times in his U.N. speech and getting the nickname, “peace beggar.” Moon repeated his conciliatory stance that the South had no intention to absorb the North and didn’t want its collapse.
So it was hard to believe that Moon had a sudden change of heart and consented to the U.S. request for the Saturday flyby, which came right after his return from the U.S. trip. It was quite obvious that Trump wanted to back up his verbal threats with action after being mocked by Kim, the leader of the destitute country incomparable in power to the U.S., who is less than half his age.
Most likely, Moon faced enormous pressure from Trump and was left with no other choice but to follow the American leader’s demand. After all, in the ongoing standoff over the North’s nuclear and missile development, Seoul has been reduced to the role of junior partner to the U.S. So the situation would have it that the U.S. request was closer to a notification than a consultation on equal footing, something different from Cheong Wa Dae’s explanation.
Or Moon may not have known fully of the consequences of the U.S. operation, when he was told of it in New York before he belatedly realized them. That could explain why Moon hosted a full-scale National Security Council meeting, one that usually follows a major provocation by the North.
The nature of the flight shows the U.S. can go it alone at North Korean targets because it goes against the usual protocol that American strategic weapons are escorted by ROK Air Force aircraft. True, it would send a message to the North that the U.S. threats of a pre-emptive strike are not empty ones and should be taken seriously.
But this goes both ways. The next time a similar mission is conducted, there is a higher chance that the North will take it as an American onslaught and make a counterattack. This could easily turn into an exchange of fire that could escalate into a full-blown war, one that will likely go nuclear.
Then what about the North’s own show of force _ firing a missile ever closer to South Korean vessels plying in neighboring seas, firing artillery rounds near population centers or kidnapping U.S. vessels?
It also dents the credibility for Moon’s stance that no attacks at the North should be conducted without Seoul’s consent. The next time when Moon speaks of no unilateral attacks, there would be even fewer people who are willing to listen. The U.S. may feel it easier to make the same show of force or, god forbid, go after the North’s nuclear sites or missile launch pads on its own.
This takes us back to the fundamental question of the current crisis: Is Korea under Moon taking a role in proportion to its stake? This is a life-or-death issue for Koreans and they should speak up whether it is to our ally or adversary when it comes to protecting our best interest. It is imperative to learn to say no, and say no clearly enough to leave no misunderstanding about what we want.
Oh Young-jin (foolsdie5@ktimes.com and foolsdie@gmail.com) is The Korea Times’ chief editorial writer.