Clearly, the boys down at the Korean online news site Pressian forgot to takes their chill pills this morning. They’re crying “naked pressure” and “interference in the domestic affairs” because, according to someone in the ROK Prime Minister’s office, Charles Humfrey, British Ambassador to Korea, told Prime Minister “2ID” Koh that he hoped South Korea would dispatch combat troops to Iraq. More specifically, he is reported to have told the PM:
“We are dealing successfully with the situation in Iraq, and if democracy can take root in Iraq, it will greatly contribute to Middle Eastern peace and international security. I think we all share a common understanding about the situation in Iraq.” ” We hope that Korea sends additional forces to Iraq.”
And:
“Maybe you’ve heard this already from the United States, but I want to say that the United Kingdom also supports the dispatch of additional soldiers to Iraq.” “It won’t be an easy decision, but a dispatch of troops would greatly help the UK, the US, and many allied nations.”
Arm-twisting at its most unrefined - or at least that’s what Pressian thought, condemning the Ambassador for employing “naked pressure” and “interfering in Korea’s internal affairs.” They even went on to accuse the British of “looking on Korea with contempt” - even mere ambassadors feel free to employ “pressure” on Korea now! Of course, I don’t recall the same folks getting pissed off at the Germans when an embassy spokesperson - not even the ambassador - dared to say in reference to the Song Du-yul case, “We know very well, however, that there is criticism about the (South Korean) anti-communist National Security Law both domestically and from abroad.” And needless to say, no one at Pressian will tell the Norks to fuck off because the KCNA [read: the government] told the “South Korean authority” and “extreme right-wing conservatives” that they must “stop their schemes to send troops to Iraq.”
Get ready for more talk like this when Rummy pays this place a visit sometime next month.
