The Marmot’s Hole

Was reading the conservative Korean-language Internet news site The Independent when I happened across this piece which starts out well but tends to degenerate toward the end. Anyway, I translated it (I can always use the practice) and posted it to Ye Olde Blog. Enjoy.

‘The background forces behind the anti-American movement have to go’

By Yun Kyeong-weon (kwyun715@independent.co.kr)

“The intrinsic nature of the North Korean nuclear problem is found in the North Korean system.”

Dr. Kim T’ae-u of the Korean Institute for Defense Analysis, 53, told this to simultaneous translation students during a lecture on security at Ehwa University’s International Education Hall. He also explained that “the fundamental solution to the nuclear problem is to democratize the North Korean system.”

Kim said, “Many young people think that the state of tension on the Korean Peninsula brought about by the North Korean nuclear problem is due to North Korea seeking a deterrent because of coercion from the Bush Administration.” About this, he said, “The intrinsic nature of the North Korean nuclear issue is ultimately with North Korea itself,” and “Because North Korea desires to protect its own system, it is making WMDs like nuclear weapons and using them as diplomatic tools against other states. If it doesn’t do so, the North Korean system would be destroyed by capitalism flowing in from Western countries that are demanding that North Korea reform and open up.”

He worried about the emotional responses of Korean young people to American hegemony. “The U.S. is a superpower. Historically, no superpower has refrained from twisting the world around its finger like the United States. Rome, Great Britain, France, and so on… they all dominated their colonies much more and exerted more force. The U.S., compared to them, is quite genteel. We must realize the reality that the Americans do not brandish their hegemony.”

Kim also said, “We need an anti-American movement, but the forces planning the movement in the background need to go. The current anti-American movement is being managed by forces that plan things premeditatedly.” Moreover, he said, “Criticizing particular American policies via anti-American movements might be appropriate, but trampling on American values and symbols is not. If anti-Korean feelings arise in Americans who see that, it’s Korea, not the United States, that will die. Therefore, the anti-American movement should be moderate and set a line that it shouldn’t cross,” he advised.

Kim said that “racial cooperation,” as is being presented by the North Koreans, has many probable dangers. “In the state that exists now with North and South militarily confronting one another, ‘racial cooperation,’ as suggested by the North Koreans, is impossible to accept,” and “If we accept it and the North Koreans suddenly betray us and threaten us with nuclear weapons, the Americans, from whom we would have already been estranged, would say ‘Hey, that’s your problem.’ If this happens, [South] Korea will have nowhere to go.”

Kim said that “North-South cooperation is something that must be achieved when the threat of war no longer exists between us,” and “A unification policy based on North-South cooperation might be persuasive emotionally, but national policy must take likely dangers and deal with them.” “By placing the U.S.-ROK alliance at the core and dealing with the North Koreans, we ensure our security.”

About so-called “progressive” and “reform” forces, he said “South Korean ‘reds’ don’t call themselves ‘reds,’ but say they are ‘pro-reform’ and ‘progressive,’” and “within the group, there are people who really are reformist and progressively-minded, but the problem is that they speak with one voice with the ‘reds’ hidden among them, and there’s no way to tell them apart. This is the reality of today’s civic groups.”

Despite the lecture taking place early in the morning, it was listened to closely by about 30 students who filled to lecture room. Kim has been re-invited to lecture because of the good responses he received from students who attended.

He said, “I feel the most rewarded when I lecture to university students,” and “If the way of thinking of young people is wrong, this country has no future. I’m not blindly pro-American. Most people are accused of being conservative when they talk of the U.S.-ROK alliance. But I was someone in the past that lost his job because I called for the Korean Peninsula to have nuclear weapons, so I have the power to persuade anti-American forces.”

About the coming six-party talks, Kim said, “The government must recognize the nature of the problem,” and that North Korea’s desire for WMDs will not go away easily if there are no changes in the North Korean system. He advised that “A nuclear agreement unconnected to change in the North Korean system is meaningless.”

For bringing about change in the North Korean system, Kim said, “We must step up policies both to induce North Korea and to put pressure on it,” and “Currently, [South] Korea only talks of inducements, but not of pressure. But we need to apply both policies and greatly increase the level of both. Now, we must present North Korea with larger and more specific benefits if it solves the problem, while on the other hand presenting North Korea with detriments that are much bigger and stronger if it doesn’t find a solution.”

About the move of the USFK garrison from Yongsan, Kim used the example of the Austria, which has an international body headquarters located in its capital city. “The IAEA headquarters in located in the Austrian capital of Vienna, and the government only receives US$1 a year in rent. This is because they say that just having the headquarters there protects Vienna. This is related to the symbols of national power. When we reflect on this wisdom, the choice to move the Joint Forces Command headquarters out of Seoul is a great mistake. There might be problems with national pride and city planning, but security problems come first. Because of this, the redeployment of USFK and the Joint Forces Command headquarters must be renegotiated from the very beginning,” he said.

I generally agree with him on North Korea, even if I think his later discussion of South Korean civic groups and the redeployment of USFK rest is somewhat off base.