Saenuri leader calls for new approach toward NK

By Tong Kim

WASHINGTON ― Kim Moo-sung, chairman of the ruling Saenuri Party, has called for a new Korea-U.S. approach to engage North Korea for its denuclearization.

But during a speech at the Woodrow Wilson Center he did not give any details, other than suggesting an end to ineffective strategic patience that has failed to reduce the North Korean nuclear threat.

Without presenting any specific new ideas on the security of the Korean Peninsula, he primarily thanked the U.S. for its role in helping the South strengthen its deterrence against North Korean threats.

During his stay in Washington, he also met Korean War veterans. He and his party bowed in traditional Korean custom in appreciation of their contribution to the defense of South Korea.

Kim said Korea would not have been a prosperous democratic country without their sacrifice. He also performed a traditional bow before Korean War heroes at Arlington National Cemetery.

Meeting representatives of the Korean community in Washington, the head of the Saenuri Party denounced leftist progressives as opportunists unhelpful to the interests of South Korea. “To defeat them, we must win more victories in elections,” he said.

Korean residents in America who have Korean nationality are eligible to vote in national elections held in their homeland. Kim is seen as the most likely candidate of the ruling party for the next presidential election in December 2017.

Several pundits commented that the real purpose of his visit to Washington was to boost his presidential candidacy among conservatives who support the Saenuri.

Kim told Korean reporters on Tuesday that “the United States is more important than China” to South Korea.

To address American suspicions ― which he said he understood ― that Korea is more inclined toward China, he said, “America is a sole, unique, and irreplaceable ally.”

Kim probably said the right thing in stressing the importance of the alliance. But the Obama administration has always welcomed a close relationship between Seoul and Beijing, as long as it does not affect U.S. strategic interests in the region.

Despite differences with China, Washington is cooperating with Beijing on regional and global security problems ― including the nuclear issues of Iran and North Korea, as well as many other global challenges. Sino-American relations are clearly headed in the direction of cooperation rather than confrontation.

While in Washington, Kim, accompanied by 10 members of his party, met Congressional leaders including the Republican and Democratic floor leaders of the House of Representatives, Senator John McCain ― chairman of the Senate Armed Forces Committee ― and Congressman Ed Royce, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

Kim’s itinerary did not include appointments with Vice President Joe Biden or Secretary of State John Kerry. Instead, he met Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific Daniel Russel.

President Obama was on a visit to Kenya and Secretary Kerry was concentrating his time on Congressional hearings on the politically controversial nuclear deal with Iran.

In 2002, Lee Hoi-chang, then presidential candidate for the conservative Grand National Party, met Vice President Dick Cheney.