Democrats More Hesitant Than Republicans on FTA
By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter
The race for the White House is in full swing in the United States, with the two presidential hopefuls, Barack Obama and John McCain, campaigning with less than two months to go until the Nov. 4 election.
Both Obama, from the progressive Democratic Party, and McCain of the conservative Republican Party have wrapped up their respective national conventions where the two parties formally adopted their political platforms for the race.
The two parties and their presidential nominees have also spoken out about their respective stance on North Korea and the U.S. alliance with South Korea. The candidates' approaches regarding the Korean Peninsula share similarities but there remain some differences as well, especially on the issue of free trade.
Republican Seeks 'CVID' From North
This month, the Republican Party adopted a policy platform that calls for the North to verifiably dismantle its nuclear weapons program. It also champions free trade deals and urges Congressmen to vote on pending agreements.
The platform takes a hard-line stance against the North, stating that ``the United States will not waver in its demand for the complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement (CVID) of North Korea's nuclear weapons programs, with a full accounting of its proliferation activities."
The Republican Party also addressed the North Korean human rights issue: ``We look toward the restoration of human rights to the suffering people of North Korea and the fulfillment of the wish of the Korean people to be one in peace and freedom,'' according to the party platform.
Additionally, the conservative party highlighted the continuing U.S. alliance with Asian nations including South Korea. It stated that ``another valued ally, the Republic of Korea, remains vigilant with us against the tyranny and international ambitions of a maniacal state on its border."
Regarding the pending Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, the platform stated that ``trade agreements that have already been signed and are pending before Congress should be debated and voted on immediately."
On the other side of the political aisle, the Democratic Party's platform shares a number of similarities with the Republican policy approach but there are differences as well.
Obama Highlights Direct Diplomacy, 6-Party Talks
The Democratic Party stated in its platform that it supports ``diplomatic efforts to secure a verifiable end to North Korea's nuclear weapons program and to fully account for and secure any fissile material or weapons North Korea has produced to date.'' The party also stated that it would pursue direct diplomacy with Pyongyang but added that the current six-party discussions should continue as well.
According to the platform, ``We will continue direct diplomacy and are committed to working with our partners through the six-party talks to ensure that all agreements are fully implemented in the effort to achieve a verifiably nuclear-free Korean peninsula.''
Like the Republic Party, the Democrats put a spotlight on human rights abuses in the North. Their platform said the Democratic Party stands up for ``oppressed people from Cuba to North Korea and from Burma to Zimbabwe and Sudan."
The Democratic platform also highlighted the U.S. alliance in the Asian region including South Korea. ``We are committed to U.S. engagement in Asia,'' according to the statement.
``This begins with maintaining strong relationships with allies like Japan, Australia, South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines, and deepening our ties to vital democratic partners, like India, in order to create a stable and prosperous Asia.''
But on the free trade issue, Democrats have been more hesitant, and Obama has in the past called for possible renegotiations of the terms in the KORUS FTA before ratifying it in Congress.
Pyongyang and Terrorism List
The North Korean denuclearization process has suffered a setback in recent weeks.
Pyongyang has stopped the disassembly of its Yongbyon nuclear facility and some reports suggest that the regime has even begun putting the parts back together again, all to protest what it sees as Washington's unjustified delay in removing it from a list of terrorism-sponsoring states.
But both candidates are on the same page on this issue. Obama and McCain have stated this past summer that the U.S. government should be wary of prematurely removing the North from the list without proper verification.
Both Obama and McCain offered cautious optimism in June when the North submitted a long-overdue declaration of its nuclear program. But both candidates struck a cautious note regarding possibly removing the North from the terrorism list.
McCain stated in June that ``it is important to remember our goal has been the full, permanent and verifiable denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. That must remain our goal.''
He had said that ``many questions remain about North Korea's programs, including the disposition of plutonium at Yongbyon, the number and status of nuclear weapons, the nature of the highly-enriched uranium program, and the extent of proliferation activities in countries like Syria."
Obama had expressed similar concerns about the North in June, stating that ``critical questions remain unanswered."
``We must confirm the full extent of North Korea's past plutonium production. We must also confirm its uranium enrichment activities, and get answers to disturbing questions about its proliferation activities with other countries, including Syria," Obama had said.
The Democrats also continue to highlight the importance of engaging the communist state.
Obama had stated that ``we should continue to pursue the kind of direct and aggressive diplomacy with North Korea that can yield results. The objective must be clear: the complete and verifiable elimination of North Korea's nuclear weapons programs, which only expanded while we refused to talk.''
Obama had said that ``we must work with diligence and determination with our friends and allies to end this dangerous threat, and to secure a lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula."