Opinion - The Korea Times

Murky Path to Presidency

By Tong Kim In less than six months, the people of South Korea will choose their next president. At this point they don’t even know who will be the candidates to choose from in December. The Grand National Party (GNP) will pick either Lee Myung-bak, former mayor of Seoul, or Park Geun-hye, former GNP chair person, for its candidate in August. Polls have suggested that either candidate will defeat any opponent from a known group of potentials to join the race, including Sohn Hak-kyu, former governor of the Geyonggi province, and Chung Dong-young, former chairman of the Uri Party. The two confident GNP primary candidates recently avoided a fatal clash over their party rules of nomination. If their disagreement had continued, it would have split the party into two, and either candidate would be positioned to capture the next presidency. The public never really understood the problem of the complicated rules that kept changing. The general voters do not care about how a party selects its candidate as long as the competition process makes sense to them. The problem w

May 20, 2007By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Latest US Position on North Korea

By Tong Kim Three weeks since the DPRK failed to meet the deadline for fulfilling the February 13 initial actions agreement under the six party talks, President George W. Bush is still committed to reaching a diplomatic solution for the complete dismantlement of all North Korea's nuclear programs and weapons. His administration sees it possible to accomplish this goal during its term, if North Korean leader Kim Jong Il makes the strategic decision to give up his nuclear weapons. President Bush does not know whether Kim Jong-il will give up his nuclear weapons even after he dismantles the nuclear programs and facilities. He said in a joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe last week at Camp David; ``there's still time for the North Korean leader to make the right choice,'' a point echoed by his ambassador to South Korea, Alexander Vershbow, who spoke to a public audience in Seoul last Friday, May 4. The expectation that the American president will not settle for less than the complete elimination of nuclear weapons in North Korea should help ease some

May 6, 2007By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Carnage and Cultural Self-Consciousness

By Tong Kim First I would like to dedicate this column to express sympathy and to pray for the victims of the demonic acts of killing at Virginia Tech last week that took away so many young promising lives. We also pray for their families. We pray for healing. Seven days after, it is still painful to sort out what caused the terrible tragedy that shocked the world, and particularly Korea and America. We know the assailant in America’s most horrible shooting was an immigrant student from Korea who had a history of mental illness. Initial reactions from the Korean press showed concern for the potential harm that could affect U.S.-Korea relations or negatively impact the prospect of U.S. ratification of the recently negotiated Free Trade Agreement. Then there came concerns of possible backlash against the two million Koreans in America _ including U.S. citizens, permanent residents, and bona fide students. Almost all Korean daily newspapers promptly published editorials mourning for the victims and consoling their bereaved families. The Korean president and his foreign

Apr 22, 2007By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Off the Record on HEU

By Tong Kim As wire stories are reporting that a solution has been suggested for the transfer of frozen funds in a Macau bank to North Korea, public attention is being refocused on whether North Korea will fulfill its commitment to shutdown its nuclear facilities by April 14 in compliance with the February 13 agreement of the six party talks. Technically it should still be possible. A shut down means turning the switch off with appropriate safety measures. North Korean engineers at Yongbyun know how to do it for they did it before under the Agreed Framework. Sealing can be done in a matter of hours after the shut down. IAEA inspectors can be brought in a couple of days. North Koreans must realize that if it further delays carrying out its commitments, the nuclear negotiation will lose its momentum and it will likely turn off the other parties in the talks. As the crucial phase of “disablement” in the February 13 agreement ? during which the DPRK is also obliged to provide “a complete declaration of all nuclear programs” ? will come next, the highly enriched uranium (HEU)

Apr 8, 2007By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

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Murky Path to Presidency

Latest US Position on North Korea

Carnage and Cultural Self-Consciousness

Off the Record on HEU

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