Opinion - The Korea Times

Exchange of mixed messages

By Tong Kim Since the first day of 2014, the two sides of the Korean Peninsula have exchanged mixed messages at a rather hectic pace. Due to the lack of mutual trust, the messages are “dead on arrival” and each side suspects if the other side’s message has any mischievous ulterior motive.  Yet it is better that both sides exchange views, instead of not at all, even if the messages are negative, devious or unproductive. Last Friday, Seoul’s Ministry of Unification rejected the North Korean National Defense Commission’s specific proposal made the day before that both sides “suspend mutual slander as of the end of January, cancel hostile military activities against each other, including Key Resolve and Foal Eagle, take mutual measures to prevent nuclear calamity and resolve all inter-Korean issues, starting with the meeting of the separated families.” Seoul’s negative response to the latest North Korean peace gesture was also specific: it is the North, not the South, that has practiced slander; the annual military exerc

Jan 19, 2014By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Japan regressing to militarism?

By Tong Kim Tension between the two neighboring countries of South Korea and Japan is rising at a time when their bilateral relations are at an all-time low. Recurring trouble between the two are deeply rooted in history, confrontational in territorial claims over the Dokdo islets, and emotionally sensitive in the politics of both nations. This tension, if unchecked, has the potential of developing into a new variable that may affect the intersecting interests of other players in the region, particularly the United States and China. The latest flare-up of friction was rekindled by a series of militant, provocative statements by a number of influential Japanese politicians including Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso. Standing defiant against the truth of Japan’s aggression, colonization, and sex slavery and other atrocities against the Korean people may help in Japanese politics, but it does not exonerate Japan from its past wrong. It is apprehensive to note the reckless attitude and imprudent statements by officials of the Abe

Aug 4, 2013By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Controversy over presidential records

By Tong Kim Questions about former President Roh Moo-hyun’s 2007 conversation with the also deceased North Korean leader Kim Jong-il regarding the Northern Limit Line (NLL) have dominated South Korean politics for some weeks now. Both conservative and progressive forces are still trying to find a definitive answer to the central question of whether Roh Moon-hyun had in fact given up the NLL, which has a history of costly military clashes, claiming dozens of lives. However, this controversy has developed into an unintended, bizarre investigation of presidential record keeping at the Presidential Archive, the director of which said the original copy of Roh’s meeting with Kim Jong-Il did not exist.   A joint panel consisting of representatives from both parties, supported by archive specialists, is still searching for the document, which may hold the answer to the question of the NLL. From charges and counter-charges between the contesting parties, there are three possibilities of what may have happened: (1) Roh did not turn over the document to the

Jul 21, 2013By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Gaeseong and way forward

By Tong KimAt midnight Saturday, representatives from both sides of Korea were still trying to narrow their differences in steps to resume the operation of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex. This working-level government-government meeting was being held to focus on the single issue of the complex, three months after its closure and one month after an attempted talk was aborted on June 12. The closure has incurred huge economic losses to both sides ― a loss of 54,000 jobs for three months and roughly $270 million in wages for the North and an estimated business loss of $1 billion to the South. If economic terms prevail over political interests, it would make sense for both sides to agree on the resumed operation of the complex. However, the North often thinks more in intangible political terms ― such as dignity, pride, beliefs, or protection of system and society. At Panmunjeom, the South side has proffered a list of requirements to reopen the complex, including an account for the North Korean responsibility of the closure, cooperation in taking out finished products and raw

Jul 7, 2013By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Back to diplomacy

By Tong Kim North Korea has launched a fresh round of peace offensive, proposing talks with the United States and reopening consultation with China, even after the talks with South Korea fell apart on June 12 over disagreement on the level of representation of inter-Korean delegations. The peace offensive is taking place in Beijing and New York, and it will probably continue elsewhere at least until the next combined U.S.-South Korea military exercises in August. Washington has so far rejected Pyongyang’s offer, demanding “meaningful actions” by North Korea to show its seriousness for denuclearization. South Korea, Japan and the U.S, through a trilateral meeting in Washington, agreed to require North Korea to meet stricter conditions for resuming nuclear talks, which may include a moratorium on the North’s nuclear and missile test and re-invitation of IAEA inspectors as once agreed in the Feb. 29 agreement of 2011. They do not believe that resumption of multilateral talks would be productive unless the North is serious about denuclearization.&nb

Jun 23, 2013By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Start of trust-building process

By Tong KimWith a scheduled inter-Korean ministerial meeting in Seoul on June 12, President Park Geun-hye’s North Korea Policy, labeled as “a Korean Peninsula trust-building process,” is finally taking off. There are some logistic details and agenda items to be worked out in advance of the ministerial meeting. Both sides held a preparatory working-level meeting at Panmunjeom on Sunday. Extraordinarily positive responses were quickly exchanged between the two sides ― that had been at each other’s throat for months if not years ― after the North Korean Committee for the Peaceful Unification of the Fatherland first proposed government-to-government dialogue on June 6.  Seoul interpreted the surprise news as Pyongyang’s positive response to its earlier calls for talks.  The North specified the subjects of discussion ― to resume the Gaeseong industrial complex and Mt. Geumgang tourism, and to arrange reunions of separated family members from the Korean War.  The North also suggested holding joint celebrations of the two landmark inter

Jun 9, 2013By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

China's influence at work

By Tong Kim Chinese president Xi Jinping’s meeting last Friday with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s envoy may revive hope for the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula through the six-party talks, which has become a further, distant goal, as the North has been vowing to keep its nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, this development provides a welcome shifting point from tense confrontation to diplomatic dialogue, especially between Pyongyang on one hand and Washington and Seoul on the other. It was to the credit of China’s influence that special envoy Choe Ryong-hae, director of the General Political Bureau of the Korean People’s Army, accepted China’s advice to work with relevant countries to resolve disputes through dialogue. After presenting Kim Jong-un’s handwritten letter to the Chinese president, Choe said, “The DPRK sincerely wishes to create a peaceful external environment to develop the economy and improve the people’s livelihood.”  According to Xinhua News Agency, he did not mention Pyongyang’s dual c

May 26, 2013By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Damage to Park's US visit

By Tong Kim The positive side of President Park geun-hye’s visit to Washington was seriously marred by an embarrassing sexual assault case involving Blue House spokesman Yoon Chang-jung, who was accompanying the president.  The alleged victim was a female intern at the Korean embassy in Washington, who was hired to assist the presidential delegation. According to a complaint filed to the police, Yoon “grabbed her buttocks without her permission” in a hotel in Washington, D.C.  The incident took place on the night of May 7, after Park had finished a summit meeting at the White House.  Yoon flew back to Seoul the next day, while Park was delivering a speech to a joint session of the Congress. Given the inflammatory nature of the story, the media is allocating more space and airtime to report and comment on Yoon’s case.  This story instantly became a political issue ― with the opposition Democratic Party demanding Park’s accountability and the ruling Saenuri Party calling for a thorough investigation. On Saturday, Yoo

May 12, 2013By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

New phase of confrontation

By Tong Kim North Korea has slowed down or exhausted its war threats, while rejecting offers of dialogue from Seoul and Washington. Fortunately, most such threats seem to have ended as rhetoric amid continuing tensions. Pyongyang was not expected to respond positively to Washington’s call for conditional dialogue or to Seoul’s proposal to discuss resumed operations of the Gaeseong Industrial Complex.  The North has accused the South of having turned the Gaeseong complex into a potential starting point of war, by planning special force operations to rescue South Korean workers, should they become hostages.  Pyongyang claimed its “tentative closure” was a precautionary measure to protect lives in the area. Pyongyang is clear it will deal with the issue of the industrial complex separate from other issues. Following the South Korean government’s decision to withdraw its workers from the joint complex, 125 of them returned to the South on Saturday, leaving the future of the complex in uncertainty. An additional 50 people are scheduled to

Apr 28, 2013By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Searching for exit strategy

By Tong Kim For more than a month now, North Korea has been threatening an impending apocalyptic nuclear war.  Yet, it is unlikely they would start a suicidal, full-scale war at this point, as they still have a lot to hang onto, including nuclear weapons, to resist domestic and external pressure that might affect their survivability.  In addition, they have not said they would start an unprovoked attack. For days, the world has been watching whether the North will fire an assortment of missiles, including short-range Scuds, mid-range Rodongs, and intermediate Musudan ICBMs.  As late as April 12, Pyongyang said its missiles were “on standby to strike U.S. bases in the continental United States, the Pacific and other areas.” If Washington has truly excluded the option of a preemptive strike on the North Korean missile launch sites, additional missiles or nuclear tests would have the consequence of further sanctions and increased tensions, short of setting off an automatic trip wire. If any missile inadvertently hit South Korea, Japan or Guam, i

Apr 14, 2013By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Read more

Exchange of mixed messages

Japan regressing to militarism?

Controversy over presidential records

Gaeseong and way forward

Back to diplomacy

Start of trust-building process

China's influence at work

Damage to Park's US visit

New phase of confrontation

Searching for exit strategy

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