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Tong Kim

Tong Kim is a Washington correspondent and columnist for The Korea Times.

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Tong Kim

Timing of OPCON Transfer

By Tong Kim As the U.S. and ROK forces complete their annual combined exercises ― Key Resolve and Foal Eagle ― a controversy is continuing in some influential circles in Seoul and Washington regarding the concept, and especially the timing, of the transition of the wartime operational control (OPCON) of the South Korean forces from the United States to the Republic of Korea. According to the current plan confirmed by the QDR (Quadrennial Defense Review) just released, the OPCON transition will be completed by April 2012. General Walter Sharp, commander of the U.S. Forces in Korea, has recently said the transition is ``on track." The ROK defense ministry spokesman and the Korean CFC deputy commander publicly supported General Sharp's plan of transition, saying that there would be no change in the plan. The transfer decision was agreed upon by the governments of Korea and the United States in 2007. The transition would deactivate the Combined Forces Command (CFC) and after the transition, South Korea would assume the leading role, and the United States, a supporting role in de

Mar 21, 2010By Tong Kim
Tong Kim

Global Korea Without Soul

By Tong Kim I have been back in Seoul for a month now, and I have just started teaching a course at Korea University's Department of North Korean Studies. My course is called ``Contending Powers Over the Korean Peninsula." I was in Korea from 2005 to 2007, working on a research program and teaching at the same university. This time I am learning more about Korea. This morning I installed a landline telephone at my residence. It took me a quick visit to the local KT branch yesterday to prove that I had a telephone in my name during the last five years, allowing me to be waived of a 60,000 won deposit requirement for first time telephone subscribers. My place, like most apartments in Seoul, is wired for Internet, cable TV, and telephone. An engineer showed up at my place punctually at the expected hour and spent no more than 10 minutes to check the line connections outside and inside the house. The phone was immediately operational. Things have changed in Korea. Early in the 1960s, residence phones were rare commodities and they were owned and used only by the privileged. Unli

Mar 7, 2010By Tong Kim
Tong Kim

No Compromise of Principle

By Tong Kim When Koreans say something is a matter of ``principle," it often means no dialogue, negotiations or compromises. When the North Koreans disagree on an issue, they often invoke the ``principle of sovereignty and independence" as the ground for disagreement. The Seoul government says it has a set of principles on engagement with North Korea, which serve as the justification for saying no to the North. In South Korean domestic politics, former Grand National Party (GNP) chairperson Park Geun-hye is known to be a confirmed politician of principle. She believes that once a decision is made by the party or the government, the decision must be carried out regardless of change in political reality or public opinion. On the controversial issue of Sejong City, Park supports the ``original plan" as a matter of principle. The plan was to build an administrative city, to which nine central government agencies would relocate. On the other hand, President Lee Myung-bak has been pushing a ``revised plan" for the city to develop it as a city of economic and educational activiti

Feb 21, 2010By Tong Kim
Tong Kim

Third Inter-Korean Summit

By Tong Kim Clearly at this point, neither Washington nor Seoul wants to discuss a peace treaty with the North Koreans before they return to the six-party talks without conditions. The Obama administration's ``strategic patience" certainly seems to shift the blame to Pyongyang for the continued delay in restarting multilateral nuclear talks. Pyongyang has called for the discussion of a peace treaty and the lifting of the U.N. sanctions that had been imposed on the North in the wake of its long-range rocket and its second nuclear test last year. South Korea and the United States, along with Japan, China and Russia, are not even sure when North Korea will come back to the six-party process. Yet, Seoul and Washington stay the course of a two-tract policy of ``sanction and dialogue." However, there may be a chance of a new development. A familiar ranking Chinese Communist Party official, Wang Jiarui, is expected to meet with Kim Jong-il this week in what seems to have become an annual Chinese exercise to squeeze some positive statements from the North Korean leader.

Feb 7, 2010By Tong Kim
Tong Kim

N. Korea’s Two-Track Strategy

By Tong Kim There is an interesting similarity in strategy between the United States and North Korea. Both sides are taking a two-track approach to the issue of nuclear weapons. Washington's two-track elements are well known as sanctions and dialogue; Pyongyang's two tracks consist of defiant confrontation and conditional negotiation. Pyongyang puts into practice what it quickly learns from Washington to protect and increase its interests. North Korea took provocative actions last spring, beginning with a long-range rocket launch and a second nuclear test, which brought U.N. sanctions on the North. In return, Pyongyang pronounced the six-party process was dead. Since Bill Clinton's visit to Pyongyang last August, Kim Jong-il has been seeking conditional nuclear negotiation with the United States in both bilateral and multilateral fora. At the same time, North Korea is always ready to fall back on its hard-line stance, if it finds some doubts. Pyongyang also pursues a double-edged approach to inter-Korean relations, shifting back and forth between confrontation and cooperatio

Jan 24, 2010By Tong Kim
Tong Kim

Political Agenda for 2010

By Tong Kim President Lee Myung-bak has set forth his policy direction for 2010, which comprises of ``strengthening global diplomacy, economic revitalization toward becoming an advanced nation, and implementation of centrist pragmatic policies for the poor." There is good reason to believe that President Lee can do well in all three areas, if he shows strong political leadership. His second year in office, 2009, was quite successful in terms of rebounding from the economic downturn from the global financial crisis and enhancing South Korea's diplomatic role in world affairs. South Korea is one of the few countries that seem to be heading in the right direction for economic recovery. The country has won a $20-billion contract to build atomic power plants for the United Arab Emirates (UAE). And Seoul will host the second of the 2010 G20 conferences. The year 2010 is a politically important year, and the Lee government faces difficult challenges. Despite the sanguine prospects of economic growth for this year, there has been little success in job creation. There has been little p

Jan 10, 2010By Tong Kim
Tong Kim

Nuke Game Continues in 2010

By Tong Kim As we all know now, U.S. special envoy Stephen Bosworth delivered President Barack Obama's letter to North Korean leader Kim Jong-il through the first vice minister of foreign affairs Kang Suk-ju, with whom Bosworth had ``exploratory discussions" in Pyongyang in early December. Bosworth would not acknowledge the delivery of the letter during the two press conferences that he has given since his return from the North ― Dec. 10 in Seoul and Dec. 16 in Washington. Bosworth said, ``I was the message." Less than a few hours after Ambassador Bosworth's press conference at the State Department, the White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs acknowledged the President's letter was delivered by Bosworth. On Dec. 18, Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency reported that the letter to Kim was conveyed to Kang on Dec. 9. Gibbs said the letter was sent to ``convince the North Koreans to do what is in their interest" and to have them ``come back to the six-party talks." Bosworth explained what he meant by ``I was the message." ``I was conveying very directly to the North Korean

Dec 27, 2009By Tong Kim
Tong Kim

What Follows Bosworth’s Talks

By Tong Kim Despite positive official characterizations of U.S. special envoy Stephen Bosworth's talks with the North Koreans on December 8 to 10 ― as ``a candid and business like" exchange of views that was ``very useful" (Bosworth), ``quite positive" for a preliminary meting (Secretary Clinton), ``a serious and frank discussion" (the DPRK's foreign ministry spokesman) and ``a good start" (the Chosun Shinbo) ― there is no assurance and it is rather unlikely that they will return to the six-party talks, as Bosworth hopes, just based on what they heard on their exploratory talks. ``Candid" or ``frank" usually means disagreement in diplomatic language. Bosworth admitted in Seoul that the North did not commit to ``when and how the DPRK will return to the six-party talks." The Chosun Shinbo, Pyongyang's mouthpiece in Tokyo, made it clear on Dec. 11 that the DPRK would not participate in any multilateral talks, ``without confidence that the hostile relations between the United States and North Korea would be transformed into peaceful relations." On a positive note, both Bos

Dec 13, 2009By Tong Kim
Tong Kim

Pyongyang’s Talking Points

By Tong Kim As Ambassador Stephen Bosworth is preparing to leave for Pyongyang on Dec. 8, there are questions surrounding the possible outcome of his visit. There is no great expectation of a breakthrough. And it would be unlikely that Bosworth will reveal any surprises to the North Koreans. The Obama administration has stated in unequivocal terms and on so many occasions: (1) it will not recognize the North as a state with nuclear weapon, (2) it will stick to the six-party frame within which bilateral talks are possible and (3) it will seek a ``decisive and comprehensive" resolution in order to achieve a ``complete and verifiable" denuclearization. In his first bilateral meeting with the North Koreans, Bosworth will probably first define the nature and the purpose of his visit. He will then brief the North Koreans regarding the U.S. positions on the issues of interest to them. Bosworth will be likely to expound on why Washington believes that the six-party process is still the best way forward towards denuclearization, why Washington is seeking North Korea's denuclear

Nov 29, 2009By Tong Kim
Tong Kim

Alliance and North Korea

By Tong Kim When President Obama meets with President Lee Myung-bak this week, they are expected to reaffirm the importance of the U.S.-ROK alliance and to announce that they agree over how to deal with North Korea. The KORUS FTA, pending ratification by the U.S. Congress and the Korean National Assembly, will be another important item for discussion. Obama will express his appreciation of Lee's decision to expand Korea's Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) in Afghanistan. The Obama administration has made its long-delayed decision to send Ambassador Stephen Bosworth to Pyongyang for direct talks with the North. The actual timing of his trip is likely to be announced upon completion of President Obama's consultations with the leaders of China and South Korea. Obama already met with the Japanese prime minister in Tokyo en route to the APEC meeting in Singapore, where he also conferred with the Russian president. These timely summit consultations certainly contribute to the building of a unified multilateral stance on the issue of denuclearization. Although the five c

Nov 15, 2009By Tong Kim
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