Korea should submit proactive retaliatory measures
The United States and its Western allies are stepping up their sanctions on Russia over its comprehensive invasion of Ukraine. In his first State of the Union address Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said he would ban Russian aircraft from U.S. airspace in retaliation for the aggression in Ukraine. "When dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos."
In bids to further isolate Russia, the allies plan to provide Ukraine with weapons and medical goods and expel Russia from various sports events. Global efforts coupled with the strong resistance of the Ukrainians are certainly becoming increasingly frustrating challenges for Russia, who then doubled down by announcing their "nuclear threat," desperate to survive these recent military setbacks.
Despite such global efforts, the recent moves by the Moon Jae-in administration have been disappointing at large. Earlier, the Korean government said it would not join the envisioned sanctions on Russia, having become the only U.S. ally to do so. As Russia launched an invasion, it then belatedly expressed willingness to join the sanctions.
On Feb. 28, Korea announced a set of retaliatory measures, banning exports of strategic materials and joining the move to exclude Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Communication (SWIFT). The government said it had had prior consultations with the U.S. before doing so. Yet, it has come under fire for its slowness in implementing the move, which apparently prompted the U.S. to exclude Korea from its priority list of 32 allies.
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced plans to prohibit shipments of high-tech items to Russia on Feb. 24, affecting companies from third countries as well as the U.S., if their products use U.S. technology and software. If these countries want to export them to Russia, they need to get prior approval from the U.S. in accordance with the revised Foreign Direct Product Rules (FDPR) regulation.
The U.S. noted it would not apply the revised rules on 32 nations such as the EU member states, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada and Australia with the exception of Korea. The department cited countries which "have committed to implementing substantially similar export controls on Russia under their domestic laws are consequently excluded from certain requirements."
Major U.S. allies are displaying a tight and united alliance in sanctioning Russia. Germany did not permit opening the Nord Stream 2 gas line while Japan submitted additional sanctions regarding the curbing of exports of semiconductors and freezing assets in Russian financial institutes on Feb. 25. Yet, Korea failed to offer sanctions until Feb. 28.
"We are not sure why the U.S. did not include Korea in the list of nations excluded from the application of the revised FDPR," a foreign ministry official told The Korea Times. "But we see a high possibility (to be included)," he said. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo vowed to make maximum efforts to include Korea in the list of "priority" allies. Korea needs to offer its own retaliatory steps that meet international standards in a more proactive manner as a responsible member of the global community.
The United States and its Western allies are stepping up their sanctions on Russia over its comprehensive invasion of Ukraine. In his first State of the Union address Tuesday, U.S. President Joe Biden said he would ban Russian aircraft from U.S. airspace in retaliation for the aggression in Ukraine. "When dictators do not pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos."
In bids to further isolate Russia, the allies plan to provide Ukraine with weapons and medical goods and expel Russia from various sports events. Global efforts coupled with the strong resistance of the Ukrainians are certainly becoming increasingly frustrating challenges for Russia, who then doubled down by announcing their "nuclear threat," desperate to survive these recent military setbacks.
Despite such global efforts, the recent moves by the Moon Jae-in administration have been disappointing at large. Earlier, the Korean government said it would not join the envisioned sanctions on Russia, having become the only U.S. ally to do so. As Russia launched an invasion, it then belatedly expressed willingness to join the sanctions.
On Feb. 28, Korea announced a set of retaliatory measures, banning exports of strategic materials and joining the move to exclude Russia from the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Communication (SWIFT). The government said it had had prior consultations with the U.S. before doing so. Yet, it has come under fire for its slowness in implementing the move, which apparently prompted the U.S. to exclude Korea from its priority list of 32 allies.
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced plans to prohibit shipments of high-tech items to Russia on Feb. 24, affecting companies from third countries as well as the U.S., if their products use U.S. technology and software. If these countries want to export them to Russia, they need to get prior approval from the U.S. in accordance with the revised Foreign Direct Product Rules (FDPR) regulation.
The U.S. noted it would not apply the revised rules on 32 nations such as the EU member states, the United Kingdom, Japan, Canada and Australia with the exception of Korea. The department cited countries which "have committed to implementing substantially similar export controls on Russia under their domestic laws are consequently excluded from certain requirements."
Major U.S. allies are displaying a tight and united alliance in sanctioning Russia. Germany did not permit opening the Nord Stream 2 gas line while Japan submitted additional sanctions regarding the curbing of exports of semiconductors and freezing assets in Russian financial institutes on Feb. 25. Yet, Korea failed to offer sanctions until Feb. 28.
"We are not sure why the U.S. did not include Korea in the list of nations excluded from the application of the revised FDPR," a foreign ministry official told The Korea Times. "But we see a high possibility (to be included)," he said. Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo vowed to make maximum efforts to include Korea in the list of "priority" allies. Korea needs to offer its own retaliatory steps that meet international standards in a more proactive manner as a responsible member of the global community.
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