Break out the ouija boards and oracle bones, children, because President Roh has issued yet another indecipherable foreign policy pronouncement [Yonhap News, Korean].
Speaking to Koreans in Saudi Arabia, Roh said, “In the future, in order for the Republic of Korea to survive, it must be pro-North Korean. It must be pro-American and pro-North Korean… If North Korea continues to be made an enemy, how long will we be able to endure the distress?”
He also said, “I think aid to the North is an investment in the future. How can some call it ‘lavishing aid on the North’ or ask if my administration is pro-North Korea. How could there be a pro-North Korean administration in the Republic of Korea?”
He continued, “After you become close friends, can’t you open the way to a whole new world? We must always overcome the past to make the future anew.”
He added that there were some things that might be hard to forgive. He said, “As a citizen, it might be hard to forget the Korean War, but since it would only harm ourselves in the end if we close off the path to a new future because we kept in our hearts only those things that happened long ago, we must move forward as long.”
He also said that his North Korea policy had been criticized too harshly, and stressed that while one could view aid to the North as simply giving, he believed aid to the North was “investment—investment in the future.”
About the North Korean nuclear issue, he said, “If intra-Korean relations are opened up and North Korea develops, it would be an opportunity for Korea to once again develop strong competitiveness and strongly enter the world market… The biggest barrier to this is the North Korean nuclear issue, and that problem has not been solved.” He said, “I’ve worked hard to persuade them, and at times held off on saying things I wanted to say, but it seems things will work out well this time.”
About an intra-Korean summit, Roh said, “In Korea, some people have been calling for an intra-Korean summit, but I’ve said not that I don’t want to hold one, but rather that given current conditions, it wouldn’t work out even if we tried to hold one. Am I mistaken?” He added, however, that he was confident that intra-Korean relations and the six-party talks would work out well this time.
Marmot’s Note: “As a citizen, it might be hard to forget the Korean War, but since it would only harm ourselves in the end if we close off the path to a new future because we kept in our hearts only those things that happened long ago, we must move forward as long.” All this would be a lot easier to take seriously if it weren’t coming from an administration that declared “diplomatic war” on Japan over things that not only happened further ago in the past, but also were committed by a country that—as imperfectly Tokyo’s apologies may have been—has at least paid lip service to the concept of contrition, which is more than North Korea has ever done.
At any rate, the focus on the past in regards to North Korea is part of the problem. It’s easier for Roh to argue that everything would turn out swell if we were to just overcome the history of the Korean War than it is for him to recognize that it’s not North Korea’s past that’s the problem, it’s its present. The Korean War, ideological confrontation or even the North Korean nuclear issue are not the biggest barriers to North Korean development. The biggest barrier, in fact, is the North Korean state, which is probably incapable of making the kinds of reforms needed to make South Korea’s so-called “investments in the future” pay dividends. But then again, pumping money into the North isn’t really an investment in the future, it’s a payoff for North Korea to play nice. One could argue that paying protection money is a rational foreign policy choice, of course, but it’s important for the government doing the paying to at least be honest about what it’s really paying.
21 Comments
My ouija board says that Roh will be gone in nine months along with his foreign policy so need to ”invest” one’s time trying to figure out what he was trying to say.
But, I would like to add, fence sitting and at the same time openly suppoting a nation hostile to the US isn’t exactly a very good idea.
When asked what other kinds of “investments” he was pursuing, Roh mentioned that he was in the final stages of securing a massive windfall from a unique opportunity in Nigeria he learned about via email.
“The biggest barrier, in fact, is the North Korean state, which is probably incapable of making the kinds of reforms needed to make South Korea’s so-called “investments in the future” pay dividends. But then again, pumping money into the North isn’t really an investment in the future, it’s a payoff for North Korea to play nice.”
It’s a balancing act. If South Korea doesn’t pump money in North Korea, the country will collapse, which might not be acceptable if you look at it from an economical and geopolitical point of view (it will drag down South Korean economy, which will have massive repurcusions in the region…or China will simply annex North Korea). But, if South Korea pumps too much money into the Northern economy, the North Korean government will put into works its plans to reunify the two Koreas by force.
“We must always overcome the past to make the future anew.”
Except, of course, when it involves Japan.
Bullshit.
Yes, South Korean aid is an investment in the future, KJI’s future.
There is no accounting for a cult of personality that is the northern system of governance and the South Korean Government, which is a democracy of sorts. The two forms of government are like oil and water and with the Chinese added to this mixture, it is smelly as it is incompatible.
I do not think Noh is a very good cook.
Patience, my friends. Patience. This whole South Korea / North Korea problem is in the process of straightening itself out. The money that flows from South to North is an investment in the present and the future. Forgive me for being optimistic, but I see it happening–not tomorrow, but when it’s time.
No single word is uttered more often from an extortionist to his mark.
In Vegas, the slot machines are usually programmed to pay back between 90-98%, and in addition have large jackpots ranging from 500 - 10 million times what a single play costs. The promise of a significant payoff, or even of a smaller jackpot, is what keeps people pumping money into them. The average person knows the odds are against them, but they’re willing to play those odds and risk a small amount of money for the chance at a large amount. A slot player sees plenty of people around him losing, but also sees some winners, and once in a while sees an instant millionaire. That’s the incentive.
North Korea is like a slot machine that South Korea continually pours money into. Only this one has no small payouts, no jackpot, administers an electrical shock if you don’t pour money into it quickly enough, and threatens to kill you if you get up and walk away from it. There are no winners anywhere, just 48 million losers, all pouring their hard-earned cash into the North Korean slot machine that never returns a single fucking dime.
Only a moron would continue to play that machine for years on end, and still be dumb enough to believe that it’s going to pay off one day.
Sorry. A moron, or a “brother.”
Is anyone seriously listenng to the guy from the Blue House any more? He is less than a dead duck. He’s a dead duck in the middle of the road.
Four and a half years of nonsense has made both his foreign policy and much of Korea’s stature irrelevant.
From now on, whatever he says, short of stepping down immediately, I can summarize in a single word: “BORING.”
I guess the more irrelevant Roh becomes, the louder and crazier he’ll yell. I’ll bet KJI didn’t even see this comment coming. This reminds me of that episode of The Simpsons when Lyle Langley convinces the citizens they need a high-speed monorail. Damn>
” If South Korea doesn’t pump money in North Korea, the country will collapse
Bullshit.”
My whole comment was made from the point of view of the Korean government.
That is the problem with the “Sunshine Policy” and its iterations; investing in North Korea is a waste of resources. It would be better to save for the day reunification does come.
“As a citizen, it might be hard to forget the Korean War, but since it would only harm ourselves in the end if we close off the path to a new future because we kept in our hearts only those things that happened long ago, we must move forward as long.” All this would be a lot easier to take seriously if it weren’t coming from an administration that declared “diplomatic war” on Japan over things that not only happened further ago in the past, but also were committed by a country that—as imperfectly Tokyo’s apologies may have been—has at least paid lip service to the concept of contrition, which is more than North Korea has ever done.
In the beginning, Chosun was simply a “Hermit Kingdown” minding its own business. Then Japan and some other powers came, messed around, and we have the lovely situation that we have today.
It could be reasonably argued that it was Japan’s fault that Korea is divided in the first place.
Ultimately, it is up to South Korea to try solve a huge, intractable mess which was inflicted upon them by outside powers and the whims of historical forces. And they are doing it even without a huge overpowering military advantage or even a significant diplomatic clout. They are doing it with the one advantage that SK has, which is economic strength.
I think Roh’s essential message is correct. He is saying SK’s policy and US’s policy dont necessary have to be at odds with each other. The US can do what it does best, which is threaten bombing and SK will do what it does best, which is offer economic incentives. Like a good cop/bad cop routine, that is what is necessary to send the proper message to NK.
“….The US can do what it does best, which is threaten bombing and SK will do what it does best, which is offer economic incentives…”
This statement certainly brought a smile to my face. I can’t detecdt any sarcasm; you actually seem to be conceding that the big bad USA of Bush and his minions might actually come in handy every once in a while.
What about our (US) image in the world, the one that every mainstream media commentor (here in CONUS) seems to constantly fret over? (I assume you’re a US citizen of Korean extraction).
Isn’t it time for us to stop being “mad bombers”, and instead resume our lost-but-mourned-for image as the world’s admired and beneficent “city on a hill”? Not to mention that we sell plenty of good fresh beer, both domestic and imported, at reasonable rates; that counts for a lot, in my book.
I’d actually prefer that; I don’t want my country to ever again be in a position where US-wielded weapons will be the cause of death for one single Korean. For the historical reasons that you so concisely point out, and with which I have to agree.
Isn’t it time for us to stop being “mad bombers”, and instead resume our lost-but-mourned-for image as the world’s admired and beneficent “city on a hill”? Not to mention that we sell plenty of good fresh beer, both domestic and imported, at reasonable rates; that counts for a lot, in my book.
Yes, I think the Budweiser diplomacy would work with North Korea. Budweiser could be the new Hersey Bar. I think the Norks can understand and appreciate the importance of beer. Might not work with Sunni/Shite muslims though…
President Roh also fervently added, South must be Pro-SpongeBob and Pro-HelloKitty.
More of that impressive regional balancer diplomacy in action!
“Like a good cop/bad cop routine, that is what is necessary to send the proper message to NK.”
I agree, but aren’t the cops involved supposed to coordinate the routine with one another for it to work?
Roh is an idiot. When will Hanaradang ever get their chance to remove the Uridang and their pro-DPRK stooges from power?
“Roh is an idiot. When will Hanaradang ever get their chance to remove the Uridang and their pro-DPRK stooges from power?”
As of December, the 386 student council will no longer be running the show.
I don’t see why this apparently contradictory policy is so hard to decipher.
I think someguyinkorea has a key piece right: the South Korean establishment, whether left or right, has an investment in preventing both collapse of the north and unification with the north. The presence of the American troops helps with this policy by enabling financing of the north, increasing the reluctance of the North to attack, and encouraging China to keep the Nork regime going. Roh’s policy may seem a little crazy, but it makes sense to the South Korean establishment, and will continue, with some different gloss, when the Roh government is only in the history books.
The problem for the United States is that this is at odds with the paramount concern of American foreign policy: preventing the jihadis from getting WMDs. But I think American foreign policy wonks are concluding that the Nork regime is just a bunch of gangsters. For all their irrationality, gangsters can be remarkably aristotelian when it comes to their own survival. Everyone knows they’ll take the money: the South just has to outbid the jihadis…
Yes, the policy will continue.
Pity the North Korean people.