Look, I understand arguments in favor of dialogue with the North. Reagan talked with the Evil Empire, after all. But if you’re gonna talk with Pyongyang, you need to have bigger balls than this. Jesus. Oddly enough, I didn’t see any cries about gulyok wegyo (humiliating diplomacy) over at OhMyNews or the Hani editorial section. Go figure.
Well, at least this screwing only cost 200,000 tons of fertilizer. As far as we know, anyway.
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I think that a lot of people are seeing Chung Dong-yong kowtowing to the North Koreans and are shaking their heads. This kind of thing will make him less likely to get elected if he is run as the Uri Party candidate or if the “progressives” (now there’s abuse of a term) split the ticket between the insane faction, the head-in-the-sand faction, and the emotional nationalism faction.
S. Korea has been “kowtowing” for two administrations now, and with the mixed emotions Koreans here have about the North, factoring in their schizo attitude toward the U.S., it will probably remain the policy for the forseeable even if Park Geun-hye is elected, because the North now sees the South as toothless. I’m with you Kushibo on the “progressives”–actual leftists in any meaningful sense are scarce here, but there are plenty of deluded pseudo-leftists:
http://english.chosun.com/w21d.....20016.html
I think one of the main issues is that there isn?€™t a clearly defined goal for the outcome of NK. Neither the US nor SK seem to have one. I think they both would like to see North and South united but to state that as a goal by definition requires the removal of the current leadership in NK and that would be seen by many to be inflammatory in nature. Naturally, one of the demands that NK has been making for a while have been for non-aggression promises. That said, both groups, particularly SK seem to think that if they are nice enough the problem will eventually go away on its own, the people will overthrow the leadership leading to a peaceful unification and everyone will be happy. While I am not saying the possibility that this will happen does not exist, I am saying it is not a foregone conclusion and to wait for it to happen seems to be a little wishful. I think NK would be correct in assuming that SK is toothless. SK so far seems to have followed the model of the wimpy rich kid at school who wants to be friends with a poor kid but the poor kid doesn?€™t really want to be friends so the rich kid offers to share his play station and other toys. I think being friendly is good if it leads somewhere or is eve reciprocated but I do not think that is the case with NK. Even DJ had to buy his meeting with KJI that at the time was attributed to DJ?€™s sunshine policy.
Unfortunately Hankyoreh has not been critical of the SKers who have given in to NK’s demands for a smaller delegation, but it has been critical of NK, in its own barely critical way.
This eddie titled “NK’s Unreasonable Demands for Smaller Delegation” Half a month ahead of festivities marking the fifth anniversary of the intra-Korean summit in Pyongyang, North Korea has unilaterally asked the South to reduce the size of the delegation it plans to send, and that is unreasonable. It goes against the stipulations of the related agreement to suggest the government’s delegation be sized down, but it is also damaging of the basic trust that has been built between North and South to want to reduce the private delegation to 190 from the 615 already determined. Realistically it would be hard to reduce the South’s number of visitors when Pyongyang has already been sent the list of names.
…..
If by chance the North is trying to use dialogue with the South as leverage in negotiations with the US or to adjust the pace it is making a big error in judgment…. We would like to see the North stop acting unreasonable and stop disappointing the Koreans in the South by suggesting the festivities be scaled down.
And recently:
Peace on the peninsula and intra-Korean relations have to progress together. That is why the tourism program has to be made more substantial while projects that connect each side, such as the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and the proposed rail links, need to see more activity. That will require the building of strong mutual confidence. However difficult things may become promises made must be kept. There must not be a repeat of the North’s unilateral suggestion that the delegation to the events marking the fifth anniversary of the summit in Pyongyang be made smaller, just because of a worsening of the political situation.
That’s “guryok goegyo”, btw.
If the principles are hard to remember after a day at the Chosun, see if this helps:
http://urimal.cs.pusan.ac.kr/r.....manweb.htm
Ooops I mean guryok oegyo. Dang, sorry.
Ooops I mean guryok oegyo. Dang, sorry.I get the “??´????™¸???” part, but what’s “??¹?†Œ???” supposed to be?
Sound of justice? ?…??…??…?
Maybe ??…?†Œ???, like the sound of stepping on soil or something….