It took them a while, but the boys and girls at Cheong Wa Dae have apparently found the behavior of their neighbor’s obnoxiousness enough to warrant the term “evil.”
Only problem is, they were referring to Japan.
The Blue House chief of staff, Lee Byung-wan, slammed Japan yesterday, calling its reaction to North Korea’s missile launches “truly evil.” He labeled Tokyo’s talk of a pre-emptive attack on the North’s missile facilities as a sign of “militarism and expansionism.”
Appearing frustrated at Seoul’s inability to shape events in the aftermath of the North’s missile salvo, Mr. Lee complained that Tokyo was leading the charge to impose international sanctions on Pyongyang. “Japan brought up the talk of a pre-emptive attack, which means war on the Korean Peninsula,” he said hotly; “Going with Japan means mortgaging peace on the peninsula.” He added, “Seoul has the ultimate responsibility for keeping the peace.”
Read it in Korean here.
Aside from the fact that the presidential office is culling its talking points (at least as far as Japan is concerned) from the Rodong Shinmun, you know the most frustrating thing about all this is? It’s that hopelessly trapped beneath the completely counterproductive rhetoric, there might be an actual point, namely, getting overexcited about North Korea’s missile tests is probably giving Pyongyang exactly what it wanted—attention.
But with Cheong Wa Dae employing this kind of language, clearly ITS point is not to caution friends to avoid overreacting to North Korea’s provocations, but rather to wage diplomatic war on a fellow member of the Free World.
And because of this, the only thing Seoul has ultimate responsibility for is its growing diplomatic irrelevance.
Frankly, I don’t even think Cheong Wa Dae is doing this to score political points here. Rather, it seems they can’t get it out of their noggins that this isn’t 1910. They’re trapped in an ideological framework of understanding and they can’t get out. Expansionism? Militarism? I’d expect this sort of talk out of Hanchongnyeon, but not Cheong Wa Dae officials.
And lest you believe it was only Japan that came under fire from Mr. Lee, it wasn’t. He also lashed out at Korea’s “extreme rightwing press,” and by “extreme rightwing press,” I can only assume he meant anyone to the right of the Hankyoreh Shinmun. Anyway, he said if you look at some of the reports in the local “extreme rightwing press,” you can’t tell if you’re reading a Korean newspaper or a Japanese one. Nice. Really fucking nice. Especially considering how there weren’t all that many papers in Korea that weren’t extremely critical of the way the government has handled the North Korean missile tests.
And for the record, even as a self-confessed conservative, I have strong reservations about the quality of journalism in the Chosun Ilbo, Dong-A Ilbo and JoongAng Ilbo, but like it or not, they account for something like 60 percent of the Korean newspaper market, and it’s extremely worrying, to say the least, when you have the presidential chief-of-staff labeling the three largest papers in the country as the “extreme rightwing press.” And I’m not even mention how this is the very same administration that got ticked off when media referred to it as “leftist.”
Well, at least we know which papers NOT to read in order to get an understanding of Cheong Wa Dae’s world view.
Fear and Loathing in Seoul?
Unfortunately, Lee Byung-wan is apparently sharing his bong with the ordinarily sensible Unification Minister Lee Jong-seok, who in what must have been a drug-addled haze said the United States “failed the most” among the nations that tried to convince North Korea from conducting its recent missile tests:
The missile launches “were focused on shaking the U.S. policy and adding pressure on the U.S.,” Lee said in interview SBS television. “Given the U.S. was the country it wanted to threaten the most, the U.S. failed the most” in deterring the launches.
Read the Korean here. Lee was responding to a question asking whether Seoul’s stated ambition to play a leading role in North Korea issues had hit a limit. He also acknowledged that South Korea and China had failed, but other nations in the international community had run into difficulties in persuading North Korea not to go through with the tests.
Note to Unification Minister Lee: North Korea did exactly what the United States had hoped it would do—shoot itself in the foot. And it was South Korea who was left holding the bag. Something to consider next time you run your mouth off about the scoreboard.
20 Comments
Amazing. One can only hope that these were some sort of unofficial, off-the-cuff comments that make an administration look stupid (but not insane) rather than official, scripted comments that would truly show that the administration has finally gone off the deep end. Even if this was an unscripted comment, it does show something of the type of disturbing thought going on behind closed doors. I guess that’s what it means to be the ‘regional balancer’ — you have to alienate your friends and coddle your enemies as much as possible. I just hope that things don’t get too messed-up for the next administration to fix.
These Commies have no idea how strong, militarily, Japan is. They only know of China’s military strength and think they can survive upcoming China-Japan War by sticking to Chinese side.
They are wrong.
Japan has enough strength to fight off China’s inferior airforce and mount counterattack. SK’d better be mum on whatever Japan does. Or, face destruction.
Face destruction.
““Going with Japan means mortgaging peace on the peninsula.” He added, “Seoul has the ultimate responsibility for keeping the peace.””
Which is the same as saying going with the US for the most part, because the US and Japan are marching side by side with this —- and that is one factor in the Blue House getting its panties in a wad.
With the missile up in the air, South Korea was thrown head first into a cement corner and got stuck there. It had dug itself deeper into the shitter with the US by its talk before the test - but it was already in deep - the missile came and Bush frantaically called all the allies and others to get the ball rolling on the response — and the Blue House’s phone didn’t ring.
Then Japan takes the lead in the UN for/with the US making it even more painfully obvious South Korea’s self-appointed goal of being the balancer and central figure in East Asia was poo.
And then it got even worse when after the Japanese bashing hit full fever pitch — coupled with everybody noticing Seoul refused to talk about NK’s test —- China and Russia do a 180 and back Japan/US —- making South Korea’s attack on North Korea over North Korea’s missile tests look even more lame.
It’s hard to capitulate when you are in the middle of getting pummled left and right —- a gut human instinct is to come out swinging even more.
And you can almost feel sorry for the Blue House, because they don’t even have Pyongyang stroking them to try and make them feel better by saying at least they understand it and at least they are behind them. No. Kim Jong Il has joined in the Uri Party ball busting.
(Notice I said almost)….
And the point Marmot made about these guys being trapped in the past has been evident now for a few years.
They are the ones who keep referring to the past. They are the ones who want to set up as part of the major official business of the government —- looking up pro-Japanese collaborators and correcting/rewriting history —– when as far as I can tell, the people are happy enough trying to deal with problems on their plate right now and looking into the future.
It will be interesting to watch what starts to happen if the Blue House does not start giving Pyongyang the kind of aid it is demanding over the next 3 months or so.
If they don’t —— I expect to start seeing old style provocations return. Things that were happening when I first went to Korea in the mid-1990s — DMZ incusions, fire fights, West Sea standoffs with weapons fired, and mini-subs chased by the ROK and in seperate instances the Japanese navy…..
Then sometime in 1-3 years a nuke test.
And if that doesn’t cause the US to cave into the North’s demands in some considerable fashion
NK will go back to killing people….(besides its own citizens)….
making South Korea’s attack on North Korea over North Korea’s missile tests look even more lame.
that should be SK’s attack on Japan….
Well, yah know… When your culture’s defining moments involve being your neighbour’s prison bitch, it’s hard to find a new role to play.
Uri will be booted next election, you can bet your soon-to-be devalued won on it
Prison bitch-cum-prison warden. It’s the extent of their collaboration that they can’t get over.
You know, sometimes I really do believe all this vitrol amounts just to that—if we wrap ourselves in the flag and shout how much we hate Japan long and loud enough, maybe God will forgive Grandpa for fighting with the Japanese in China or serving as a POW camp guard in the South Pacific.
Just as it is said there are dozens of words to describe “snow” in Eskimo tongues, I wonder if Korean has dozens of words to mean “blame”.
every man, woman and child in korea should channel their energy and help destroy japan. do not rest until the entire island of japan sinks into the pacific.
all you slugs out there…. be grateful. we’ll (koreans) rid the world of those evil nips. and when that day comes… u.s.a and japan against china and korea… so be it… the fights not over…it’s not over till we say it is..(koreans)
A mind is a terrible thing to waste…
The Blue House seems increasingly unable to detach itself from its failed ideology and recognize the greater, surrounding reality.
Actually, I have notice this to be the pattern in both Japan and Korea. When leaders in society, or even small circles, discover in their later years that they have taken a wrong turn years ago in their thinking, they virtually cannot change direction. The flippant explanation is they can’t change out fear of a “loss of face.” The more in-depth description is that the seonbe-hube system in Korea like the sempai-kohai Japanese equivalent forces intellectual and moral paralysis. The senior leaderships have major emotional as well as intellectual obligations to their junior supporters/hangers-on. Consequently for them to make a major change in direction is likely to cause a political phenomenon like the cracking of a whip with unpredictable damage to their followers. That in turn would likely cause vengeful rebukes from their factions.
Alas! it appears we are witnessing this cultural pattern in the Blue House
If I stop to think about it, it really is sad and sorrowful that Roh and Uri happened at this time in South Korean history.
The end of the Kim Dae Jung administration could have been the passing of the torch to a new era — as he was the last part of the era of authoritarian rule — he was the cap to that era - the long, long term dissident leader who became president once democracy he had struggled to establish for so long was firmly established.
The president after him could have taken South Korean society into the future - been the first fresh leader to usher in the 21st Century.
And what did they get?
A leader and a party obsessed with the past…….
At least with Kim Dae Jung and the Sunshine Policy —-
he was taking strong action in his term to break with the past with a bold move whose eye was on the future - trying to build that future.
Whatever eventually became of that dream —– it was better than the retro-attitude of the current ruling party….
All of these delusional complaints do sound much like so much DPRK orchestration, if only because it is in the same key. I’m not sure what one could hope to gain by such statements.
I think I should write a musical about this administration and its backwards way of thinking and call it “The Last Jackass
empress“.if and when the gnp takes over, will the ministry of unification still exist?
i honestly think this administration is trying to deflect attention away from their own failings by blaming japan to incite nationalism (which in theory means, let’s get behind the president) and stir anti-american sentiments (which brought them to power in the first place). while this might have worked in the past, they’ve used this blame to japan/america to deflect attention away one too many time, to the point that the citizens are finally catching up and not falling for this game. i don’t have any proof but from talking to few people, that’s the impression i’m getting. or maybe it’s my wishful thinking.
I suppose they wouldn’t mind if the Japanese diplomatic mission left the country with their closest of friends the American military that the South also seems to consider evil then would they? I mean, I’m all for it, and it seems like the South’s government is as well. Perhaps these people want out as well.
I know of one person who seems to have run out of patience.
Honestly, the South doesn’t want us their, why should we be risking our lives so that they can be stupid? I think we need a reversal to the old age where someone gets a good beating if they’re stupid. That beating will be from KMJI when he invades after the South’s closest thing they have to allies stop caring about the bastard child. Knock some sense into them or something.
Usinkorea:
It’s a bit interesting to note that Kim Dae Jung (aka Mr. Toyota during the Japanese rule) was a president who actually experienced the Japanese occupation, while Roh is from a generation born after WWII. Instead of being freer of the past, they’re becoming more and more tied down by it.
Darin,
The importance of the Korean peninsula in Japan’s national security has not changed from 1910. A Russian port set up in the peninsula in those days would have threatened Japanese independence. And today, a Chinese missile base in Busan will be a nightmare for Japan, as there is no missile defense system currently capable of shooting down a missile launched from such close proximity. Current events in the US-Korea alliance seem to indicate that the US is pulling out of the alliance, to the surprise of the Korean government who were so certain of their geographical importance to the US that they probably never expected to be dropped by the US no matter what irrational claims they made. I just hope the US and Japan have a solid plan devised to maintain their power in the northwest Pacific rim.
“i honestly think this administration is trying to deflect attention away from their own failings by blaming japan to incite nationalism”
It also deflects attention away from North Korea and its missile test.
I have also been saying the FTA was set up as a long running issue for Uri hopefuls and the party to regain favor among voters.
And the USFK base environment issue is another drum that will be beaten heavily until next years presidential election.
“I’d expect this sort of talk out of Hanchongnyeon, but not Cheong Wa Dae officials.”
Haven’t they been one and the same at least since Inauguration Day 2003?
Even China is cooperating more than S.K. with the U.S. nowadays.
Roh is right on schedule in his plan to isolate the entire peninsula, to bring back the glory days of the Hermit Kingdom–when it was a shrimp amongst whales. I wish him luck as the last GI leaves.
Unfortunately, Japan won’t have operational KC-767s (i.e. aerial refueling capability) until 2010, although they could probably activate a couple in 2008 in a pinch. Until then, their pre-emptive talk will ring hollow. Of course, who’s to say a few USAF KC-135s might not accidentally refuel an F-2 strike package?
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[...] I guess there really is an ‘Axis of Evil’ member in NE Asia! 14 seoulmilk, R. Elgin, usinkorea [...] [...]
[...] My comment: Several readers at this and other blogs have charged that Japan has a small but vocal and growing right-wing that is (pick one or more): (i) infiltrating the government, (ii) swaying public opinion, (iii) seeping into the media, and all of this is just the first step of a new (evil) Japan hostile to its neighbors and ready to recreate the Co-Prosperity Sphere. [...]
[...] The South Korean level of political maturity in particular makes this a dangerous situation, and makes the continued presence of USFJ irrelevant to a Korean build-up. Recent South Korean rhetoric concerning Japan only highlights the Seoul’s immaturity. The fact remains that U.S. forces in both Korea and Japan have led to a feeling of protection for both nations that has in the past few decades restrained urges to build-up military forces or opt for nuclear deterrence. [...]
[...] More on this over at The Marmot’s Hole. [...]
[...] The South Korean level of political maturity in particular makes this a dangerous situation, and makes the continued presence of USFJ irrelevant to a Korean build-up. Recent South Korean rhetoric concerning Japan only highlights the Seoul’s immaturity. The fact remains that U.S. forces in both Korea and Japan have led to a feeling of protection for both nations that has in the past few decades restrained urges to build-up military forces or opt for nuclear deterrence. [...]
[...] The South Korean level of political maturity in particular makes this a dangerous situation, and makes the continued presence of USFJ irrelevant to a Korean build-up. Recent South Korean rhetoric concerning Japan only highlights the Seoul’s immaturity. The fact remains that U.S. forces in both Korea and Japan have led to a feeling of protection for both nations that has in the past few decades restrained urges to build-up military forces or opt for nuclear deterrence. [...]
[...] Make sure you read the whole article because it is a good read, but I think there is a reason why this guy is no longer the foreign minister; because he makes sense compared to people like this. [...]
[...] Make sure you read the whole article because it is a good read, but I think there is a reason why this guy is no longer the foreign minister; because he makes sense compared to people like this. [...]