Regarding Korea, China and Japan’s troubled modern history, U.S. Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman seemed to side with Tokyo’s stance when she said, “Of course … it is not hard for a political leader anywhere to earn cheap applause by vilifying a former enemy. But such provocations produce paralysis, not progress.” By Park Yong-seok
Washington said on Monday that there has been no change in U.S. policy, part of an attempt to rectify controversial remarks made by an American diplomat that seemed to position the United States with Japan on historical issues with its neighboring Asian countries.
On Monday, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf expressed surprise over how Seoul had interpreted comments made by Wendy Sherman, the undersecretary of state for political affairs.
“We were, frankly, a little surprised to see that some interpreted her remarks as being directed at any particular leader in the region,” she said.
On Friday, Sherman stated in an address at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington that, “It’s not hard for a political leader anywhere to earn cheap applause by vilifying a former enemy,” words that seemed to be directed at South Korean President Park Geun-hye or Chinese President Xi Jinping, though the Asian leaders were not specifically identified.
Sherman’s remarks, which appeared to trivialize sensitive historical issues, were met with strong backlash in Seoul over the weekend, namely her claim that Seoul and Beijing “have quarreled with Tokyo over so-called comfort women from World War II.”
“There are disagreements about the content of history books and even the names given to various bodies of water,” she continued, likely referring to the dispute over the name of the body of water between Korea and Japan, designated as the East Sea in Seoul and the Sea of Japan in Tokyo. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read more at the link, but publicly calling out leaders like this is sure to backfire and entrench their positions. Something as sensitive as the comfort women issue I think requires more quiet back room diplomacy. The Chinese government is never going to stop using historical issues to drum up anti-Japanese sentiment to turn attention away from major domestic issues when needed. The South Korean government does this as well, the best example is when former President Lee Myung-bak was plagued by scandals so he took a trip to Dokdo to bash the Japanese and his poll numbers rose. However, if the Japanese right wing would stop making provocative statements in regards to this issue more traction in regards to reconciliation between Korea and Japan could happen.
The start of the upcoming military exercises between the US and South Korea has been released:
The South Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command (CFC) said that the two allies will conduct their annual joint military drills starting March 2.
Approximately ten-thousand South Korean and eight-thousand-600 U.S. troops will take part in this year’s Key Resolve exercise, which will run through March 13.
Of the involved U.S. forces, six-thousand-700 will be brought in from U.S. bases in other countries such as Japan for the computer-simulated command post exercise.
This year’s Key Resolve exercise will also involve forces from five other countries such as Australia, Canada, Denmark, France and the U.K.
In a separate exercise, South Korea and the U.S. will hold Foal Eagle from March 2 to April 24 with some 200-thousand South Korean and three-thousand-700 U.S. soldiers being mobilized.
The USS Fort Worth, a three-thousand-450-ton Freedom-class littoral combat ship (LCS), will participate in the tactical field training exercise for the first time.Equipped with a helicopter, unmanned reconnaissance aircraft and 21 missiles, the Fort Worth is capable of nearing the shoreline despite the shallow waters of the Asia-Pacific. [KBS World]
You can read more at the link, but I guess we will see if the North Koreans want to respond with a provocation cycle or not.
The Korea Herald has an editorial that explains why they believe China has been so adamant at preventing the deployment of the THAAD missile defense system to South Korea:
China’s dogged opposition to the potential deployment of an additional U.S. missile defense asset to South Korea has raised questions over Beijing’s true intensions, given that the interception system does not pose any serious security threat to China.
Some assume the opposition to the Theater High-Altitude Area Defense system is intended to forestall any potential negative ramifications for China’s security. Others say the dissent appears designed to weaken the South Korea-U.S. alliance.
Despite the fact that THAAD is a wholly defensive system capable of targeting only North Korean missiles directed at South Korea, top Chinese officials ― most recently China’s Defense Minister Gen. Chang Wanquan ― have repeatedly voiced opposition to THAAD.
Military experts say that, contrary to lingering speculations, THAAD could not shoot down Chinese intercontinental ballistic missiles headed for the U.S. mainland, or pose any missile threat to China, should it be based on the peninsula. [Korea Herald]
Here is what the article says about the radar being used for intelligence collection:
China may take issue with the radar system with the argument that THAAD could be used to gather intelligence about Chinese military activities. But China is already under the scrutiny of a host of U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets including military satellites, and vice versa.
You can read much more at the link, but the editorial believes this is simply a ploy by the Chinese to create tension between the US and the ROK in order to weaken the alliance.
It seems to me that it is pretty clear that the ROK wants THAAD in Korea, but the trick for them is figuring out how to deploy it without pissing off the Chinese:
With growing controversy in Northeast Asia surrounding U.S. ambitions to deploy an advanced antiballistic missile defense system on the Korean Peninsula, the Pentagon has reversed its earlier position that Seoul and Washington were discussing the issue.
In the latest media briefing, the Pentagon’s press secretary made clear the United States and South Korea are not having official discussions on possible deployment of the Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system, better known as Thaad.
“There are no formal consultations or discussions about Thaad with our Republic of Korea counterparts, no formal consultations about Thaad. And we want to be very clear about that,” said Navy Rear Admiral John Kirby on Friday in Washington. “We do discuss a full range of military capabilities with our allies in South Korea, of course, and some of those do include missile defense. But there are no consultations with respect to Thaad.”
Kirby said it is for the South Korean government and its people to decide what is of strategic value to their country.
The Pentagon’s verification came as Seoul, Washington, Beijing and Moscow have been engaged in an intensifying diplomatic tug-of-war in recent weeks over possible Thaad deployment. Throughout this month, defense officials in Beijing and Washington took turns nudging Seoul to make up its mind.
Thaad is a U.S. defense system designed to shoot down missiles using a hit-to-kill approach. Because it is equipped with a radar system that can cover more than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles), deployment of a Thaad battery in Korea has been a sensitive issue. Both China and Russia see it as a threat to their security interests that could be used for surveillance.
Beijing and Moscow appeared to be particularly sensitive to the Thaad system because of the AN/TPY-2 – a high-resolution, rapidly deployable X-Band radar designed to detect, track and identify ballistic missiles at long distances and very high altitudes.
During a press conference Feb. 10, Kirby said South Korea and the United States were discussing possible deployment of Thaad.
“I think we all recognize the importance of the capability,” Kirby said about the Thaad system in Washington. “There are constant discussions, and certainly with our South Korean allies about that.”
While offering no details, Kirby said, “It’s an important capability. It’s one that we talk to them about. That’s really as far as I can go today.”
Another U.S. government official, Lt. Col. Jeff Pool, a Pentagon press officer, supported Kirby’s earlier comments, saying officials in Washington and Seoul often talked informally about Thaad, although there never was an official discussion.
“It would be untruthful to say we haven’t informally discussed [it] because we already had a site survey in the ROK [South Korea] and Gen. [Curtis] Scaparrotti said he wanted it,” Pool told Korean correspondents in Washington, referring to earlier statements by senior U.S. defense officials. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
Typical North Korean rhetoric and typical US-ROK response:
Airman 1st Class Leah Fisk builds a camouflage cover for a tactical communications system on March 18, 2014, in preparation for Foal Eagle, an annual U.S-South Korean military exercise. On Jan. 22, 2015, South Korea’s defense ministry said the spring drills will go on as planned despite North Korea’s call to cancel them in exchange for its pledge to suspend nuclear testing. Suzanna M. Jenkins/U.S. Air Force
South Korea’s defense ministry said Thursday that annual joint spring drills with the U.S. will proceed as planned, despite North Korea’s call to cancel them in exchange for its pledge to suspend nuclear testing.
It was unclear how the decision to go ahead with the Foal Eagle field training and Key Resolve command post exercise would affect Seoul’s call for the two Koreas to hold their first summit since 2007.
“These are the annual exercises for the defense of the Republic of Korea,” a Ministry of National Defense spokesman said, speaking on customary condition of anonymity. “Therefore, we need to hold them, and North Korea will need to return quickly to meaningful conversation which could reach real progress in denuclearizing North Korea.”
Washington and Seoul tout the two exercises as defensive in nature, but they routinely draw condemnation and threats from the North.
Approximately 12,700 U.S. troops — about half from outside the peninsula — and more than 200,000 South Korean troops took part in last year’s exercises, as well as a number of U.S. naval and air assets from outside South Korea. Details for this year’s drills, which the MND said will begin in early March, have not been announced. [Stars & Stripes]
Most of the Korea Times article is about Ambassador Mark Lippert who is making a good first impression with the Korean public, but here is what I found most interesting about the article:
The latest instance of his “friendly diplomacy” was his attendance at the New Year reception for the KATUSA Veterans Association, Thursday.
“Primarily, I was not given liberty. Tonight was that my wife wanted me to pick up something at the PX for the baby. So, I’m on borrowed time,” Lippert said during the event, referring to his son, who was born here, Tuesday.
The event was the only public event he kept this week, the 41-year-old added.
His wit also brought about laughs when he had to give an impromptu speech because of an unexpected technical problem with his tablet computer.
“For the first time, I was going to give my speech from my Microsoft tablet, but it froze immediately, literally seconds before. So seriously, it is going to be an interesting speech,” Lippert said. (…………………..)
In honor of the unbreakable bond that develops between 8th U.S. Army soldiers and their KATUSA soldiers, Lt. Gen. Bernard Champoux, the 8th Army’s commanding general, has created an annual award for former KATUSA soldiers who have gone on to distinguish themselves in their careers and contributions to Korean society and the alliance.
“I would also like to announce the establishment of the Sgt. Kim Sang-won Distinguished Former KATUSA Award,” said Champoux.
Sgt. Kim served as a KATUSA with the 17th Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division during the Korean War and participated in more than 300 combat patrols, including the drive to the Amrok River in late 1950. For his fighting spirit and unflappable courage, Kim was later awarded the Silver Star for gallantry in action during one of his numerous patrols.
The inaugural award winner was Yoon Yoon-soo, chairman and CEO of Fila International. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but congratulations to Mr. Yoon Yoon-soo for being the first awardee of the Sgt. Kim Sang-won Distinguished Former KATUSA Award. I bet there is a lot of other former KATUSAs out there doing great things in public service and in the business community and this award is a way to highlight this fact.
Here is an update of the development of the “Combined Division” that the 2nd Infantry Division is developing with the ROK Army:
About 30 South Korean officers, including a one-star general, became part of the 2nd Infantry Division’s headquarters staff Thursday as part of the formation of a combined division.
The integration is one of the first concrete steps the two militaries have taken toward the historic restructuring since the initiative was announced last September.
“U.S. and Korean soldiers will literally operate as one unit with one unified effort,” 2ID commander Maj. Gen. Thomas Vandal was quoted as saying in a 2ID statement. “Nowhere else has this been attempted to the extent that we are going to implement, and the fact that we are able to make this happen is momentous.”
The combined division will fall under the 8th Army and include 2ID forces and South Korea’s 16th Brigade. It will be led by the 2ID commander and a South Korean one-star general – initially Brig. Gen. Yin Sung-hwan — acting as deputy commander. Many of the South Korean officers joining the headquarters staff, composed of approximately 750 U.S. troops, will begin integration training next week, according to the statement.
Officials have said the combined division will improve the allies’ warfighting capabilities and create more opportunities for joint training. South Korea’s Ministry of National Defense previously said that during peacetime, troops from each country will live at separate bases and train together as needed. [Stars & Stripes]
You can read more at the link.
Though some units have had active training relationships with ROK Army counterparts in the past this is probably something that should have been done long ago that is finally coming to fruition to formalize and better integrate these relationships. Hopefully these headquarters staff ROK officers are not treated as glorified KATUSAs and instead are fully integrated as part of the team. It will be interesting to see how well this works out.
