Say whatever you want about Democratic Labor Party lawmaker Roh Hoe-chan, but he does make things interesting. From the Korea Times:
U.S. forces stationed in South Korea have contingency plans to intervene in regional conflicts, including disputes involving China and North Korea, according to a classified document released by Rep. Roh Hoe-chan of the Democratic Labor Party on Tuesday.
Roh claimed that the U.S. Forces Korea’s (USFK) “high-level” scenario includes involvement in disputes between China and other regional powers in Northeast Asia, military intervention in conflicts between China and Taiwan and the use of armed forces to manage a crisis on or near the Korean peninsula in case of the sudden collapse of the North Korean regime.
“The United States clarified its intention to intervene militarily in North Korea and China,” Roh said at a press conference at the National Assembly. “In the mid-level scenario, Washington will intensify its pressure on Pyongyang if it continues trying to develop nuclear weapons. This will eventually irritate Beijing, leading to a full-scale conflict between China and the U.S.”
Roh said the document was written in July 2003 by officials from the National Security Council (NSC), the Foreign Affairs-Trade Ministry and the Defense Ministry before attending bilateral defense talks with Washington, dubbed the Future of the Alliance (FOTA).
The document is an indication that Seoul is taking serious measures to prepare for a broader regional role taken by the USFK, Roh said. U.S. troops here have traditionally been considered a “fixture” on the Korean peninsula.
The document Roh leaked mentioned a number of scenarios, graded into three levels of intensity. From the Hanguk Ilbo (Korean):
– Low intensity: Regional disaster relief; maritime patrol and rescue; securing shipping lanes; exterminating transnational crimes like drug running and piracy.
– Medium intensity: Punishing states that support terrorism; tracking down non-state terrorist groups and destroying their bases; putting military pressure on states that are developing weapons of mass destruction
– High intensity: Intervening against states like China that are potential regional hegemons or in conflicts between regional states; military controlling a crisis along the Taiwan Straits; indirectly supporting separatist or independence movements in neighboring states (YTN actually mentioned Tibet earlier today!); intervening in a conflict between neighboring states if a crisis erupts because of a sudden change in the North Korean regime.
Roh also claimed that because the document discussed the issue of the Korean military’s participation in and support of USFK’s expanded regional role, this indicated that the U.S. had requested said participation and support. Or as he put it, “I can’t believe Korea would have brought up the issue of Korean military participation without the U.S. asking first.”
The Ministry of Defense, however, is denying these issues were discussed between Korea and the United States. Back to the Korea Times piece:
“The document was written by working-level officials compiling dissertations, research papers and other data for a mock discussion preparing Seoul officials for the FOTA meeting,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement. “We’ve never shared our opinions or discussed with the U.S. a possible extension of the USFK’s role.”
Considering Roh’s privileged rights as a lawmaker, the ministry said it will not take legal measures against him despite the leakage of the “second-degree” intelligence during his news conference.
Roh has developed a real talent for stirring up the shit by getting his hands on and subsequently releasing documents that others would have preferred to remain confidential, especially when they involve the United States. In September he released an internal Cheong Wa Dae memo lambasting the Foreign Ministry for both its “weakness” in the U.S. Yongsan Garrison move negotiations AND its attempts to undercut the president and National Security Council. And then in October, he released the entire text of the Yongsan Agreement — which he has a major beef with, if you couldn’t tell already — much to the chagrin of the Foreign Ministry, among others.
Of course, you do have to wonder where he’s getting some of these documents from, including his latest release.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
Clearly this gentleman is interested in precluding USFK from taking any action in any contingency other than direct defense of the ROK against an attack. Who knows whether such revelations reflect actual contingency plans, or just conjecture by high-ranking ROK government officials as to what the US will do in a situation.
I find it incredible that the US President and our defense establishment would tolerate this.
Is this ROK lawmaker acting with the ROK President Roh’s undisclosed approval, continuing to fulfill his campaign promise of “not kowtowing” to the US?
Perhaps this lawmaker thinks that the US is so committed to the defense of the ROK that there we will defer to the ROK no matter what. And if there are no consequences as a result of his “revelations”, I suppose from his perspective he will be entirely correct.
Get our US troops out — now.
US Military have contingency plan for everything up to and including alien invasion and divine intervation.
Any military worth its salt has contingency plans for all sorts of unpleasant scenarios.
For that matter, most individuals have contingency plans (or should have!) for any number of emergencies. For instance, I have plans about how to handle being caught in a subway fire, what to do during an earthquake, where to go if a tornado strikes, and even how to react if I ever happen to meet the Big Ho.
Boy Scout Motto: “Be Prepared!”
Jeffery Hodges
This guy is a security nightmare. Regardless of the content of any “second degree” (US classification = SECRET) document, he wrecking a lot of goodwill within the alliance. US members of congress, State Dept, Defense Dept (military/civilian/contractor) and others sign NONDISCLOSURE STATEMENTS as a step when receiving their clearances. I don’t know how the ROK government does it; sounds like there’s no fear of reprisal.
Dr Hodges, I too have wondered how I would react if I met Big Ho!
“This guy is a security nightmare. ”
No kidding. I wonder what his true motivations are.
Maybe he just thinks US forces are here because they enjoy running over middle school girls and getting yelled at, just out of the goodness of their hearts?
However, it does seem there’s something of a double standard in play. GNP big boy Park Jin disclosed classified material in the National Assembly and did so with political motive, but no one here seemed to notice.
oranckay. The GNP member did let out “classified material” but this material was solely Korean material. The material was not directly from the US government. The material Roh let out is from the US government. I think most readers would be more interested in this case since it involves not Korean classified info but US classified Info leaked by a foreign country.
I find the West generally appreciates contingency plans much more than Korea. I’m not saying Koreans don’t have contingency plans just that the West plans out things more and has more contingency plans than Korea. This is a difference between cultures. I think many Koreans ( with a nice spin from Left media and NGOs would look at this very suspiciously. Many would think the US wouldn’t make a plan unless it was going to happen. Many Koreans just don’t have such contingency plans and would think that way.
Korans have a good laugh at me because I tell them I have a very basic survival kit and some money (in US dollars) just in case the brothers to the North attack. Most think why plan for something that probably won’t happen. Cultural difference!!!!
I agree with “non korean” entirely about planning. There’s also the issue of “not ruling things out.” Kerry wouldn’t rule out military action against NK, but that’s just normal and there’s no way he ever would’ve. But the Korean papers declared “Possible NK Strike by Kerry.”
About the leaks…. Any fool, China and NK included, knows why US troops are here and why the US wants to keep ‘em here. What Park Jin revealed was probably not known to NK before he went public with it, and as such presented the more immediate security problemm.
i wonder what the US’s reaction to this was.
I really didn’t see much in the “disclosures” that wasn’t known beforehand. It was the hype of them that made the difference.
I just wonder if there is not some broader coordination between Pres. Roh and these other people who seem to be trying a preemptive strike on any bolder moves by Bush after his election?
It is hard to tell, because this kind of scare talk comes out fairly regularly in the Korean press.
And, I would guess there is little “coordination” but simply a result of the Bush victory touching buttons in different people who hoped Kerry would win and do much more of what SK wants on NK —- which is to buy them off and shut up about them….
Conspiracies and Smear Tactics
Obviously, American military and political officials are experts at spinning conspiracy theories after being the brunt of them for so long. High-ranking U.S. Defense Department officials have recently complained about negotiation details, such as the t…
You must log in to post a comment.