South Korea Should Embrace Liberty in Confronting Pyongyang
The government of one of the world’s most important and successful nations has exhibited a shocking fear of exposing its people to information freely available throughout most of the world.
The Republic of Korea barely survived the Korean War, which ended 68 years ago. The ROK also barely survived the ensuing peace.
The country was ravaged by war. Seoul changed hands four times. South Korean civilian casualties were in the hundreds of thousands. Destruction was widespread with massive numbers of people driven from their homes. An estimated 650,000 North Koreans fled south and had to be integrated into a society badly malformed by war. For years the South remained materially poor and poorly governed.
Is Mike Pompeo Clueless on North Korea?
Donald Trump created an opportunity for serious negotiation with Pyongyang. However, he was utterly incapable of forging such a pact. Now Pompeo’s comments suggest that the secretary of state may have been no better prepared.
Mike Pompeo was the ultimate undiplomatic secretary of state. He paraded about the world talking about his swagger. Observers were more likely to comment on his other, less laudable characteristics, such as hubris, hypocrisy, and sanctimony.
Now, however, the best description of Pompeo might be “clueless.” Who knew that that the wannabe tough guy believed in miracles when negotiating with North Korea?
The bad was bad policy, but that was a choice that only Seoul could make.
Successive U.S. presidents and Congresses claimed the Republic of Korea to be a close ally. Candidate Joe Biden made improving alliances a key plank in his campaign. Yet Washington has never treated the ROK as a full partner. That remains the case today.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) announced that he intends to hold a hearing in March on South Korean legislation that bans leafletting into North Korea. A member of the GOP minority in the House, Smith no longer can direct committee action. However, he still co-chairs the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, which shames rather than legislates.
Could Tony Blinken Start a Crisis with North Korea?
Tony Blinken should eschew maximalist demands, more sanctions, and excessive delay, which would greatly reduce the chance of reaching an agreement with North Korea. The end result could be a policy train wreck at the administration’s start.
President Joe Biden was not yet sworn in when his choice for secretary of state, Tony Blinken, threatened to create a crisis on the Korean peninsula. The latter said he was “reviewing options,” no harm there, regarding a “hard problem that has plagued administration after administration,” which well describes North Korea.
But what was he thinking? “One of the first things that we would do,” he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is “look at what options we have, and what can be effective in terms of increasing pressure on North Korea to come to the negotiating table, as well as what other diplomatic initiatives may be possible.”