Lankov on South Korean Reaction to Sanctions
Dr. Lankov has an article up in the International Herald Tribune regarding the sanctions debate in South Korea:
Since the UN Security Council ordered sanctions against North Korea, Seoul has done its share of tough talking, and it will probably support the embargo once it is imposed. But it is unlikely that South Korea will maintain pressure on the North for long.
More likely, South Korea will use the first available excuse to walk away from the sanctions, citing, for example, humanitarian concerns (i.e. a major flood in North Korea). Already now, South Korean diplomats are working hard to make sure that the sanctions will not be too harsh, and they will probably find some support from China and Russia.
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 This might appear strange: after all, South Korea would seem to be the country most threatened by North Korean nuclear weapons. Some Americans blame South Korean indecisiveness on the nationalist left which now dominates Seoul’s politics. The major reason for Seoul’s attitude, however, is not an inability to grasp the seriousness of the situation, but rather a very real divergence of interests with Washington.
For those who have been following the North Korean nuclear issue, Dr. Lankov really doesn’t bring up anything new, but he is educating a wider audience by being published in the International Herald Tribune about the South Korean reaction to the nuclear crisis, which I have not seen one MSM media source accurately explain until Dr. Lankov’s article.
[…] The Taft-Katsura Agreement is just one of a long line of historical revisionism endorsed by Korean politicians like Minister Chung I mentioned earlier that seek to blame foreigners, in particular the United States, for all the failings of the Korean government. If the failures of prior Korean governments was the fault of foreigners and the big, bad United States; then all the failures of the current Korean government most also be the fault of foreigners and the big, bad United States now. That is why the Korean government finds it so necessary to create a historical context in order to blame current problems on the US. So when the North Koreans detonate a nuclear weapon, who does the South Korean government blame for it? The United States of course, while totally remaining silent about the fact the South Korean government are the ones that financed the nuclear weapon by giving massive amounts of aid and hard cash to the North Koreans. […]
[…] the North Koreans detonate a nuclear weapon, who does the South Korean government blame for it? The United States of course, while totally remaining silent about the fact the South Korean government are the ones that […]