Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, a former head of the minor opposition People’s Party, speaks during a debate on the deployment of a sophisticated U.S. missile defense system in South Korea at the National Assembly Building in Seoul on July 14, 2016. Ahn, a potential candidate for the next presidential election, again voiced his opposition to the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here. (Yonhap)
That is what editorial writer Oh Young-jin for the Korea Times thinks:
The ongoing controversy over the terminal high-altitude area defense (THAAD), the U.S.-made missile defense system, has similarities with the mad cow crisis.
The THAAD case could be as explosive in its consequences as the U.S. beef case. Already, the citizens of the areas that are reported to be on the shortlist of candidates are up in arms, some organizing committees and others pressuring their political representatives. It is the exhibition of the selfish “not-in-my-backyard” mentality. But they can’t be blamed for not wanting to be targeted by the first wave of North Korean attacks that concentrate on strategic military assets such as THAAD or the expected losses in their property values.
Making their protests as political as the mad cow protests is the fact that the country is about to enter an election cycle ahead of the December 2017 presidential poll. Buffeted in not-so-small measures by the THAAD brouhaha, President Park Geun-hye saw her approval ratings fall dramatically. Especially noteworthy is the record low of popular support in her regional power centers in North Gyeongsang Province and Daegu. Chilgok and Waegwan, both in North Gyeongsang Province, are reportedly included on the shortlist.
Even if the THAAD controversy doesn’t lead to the massive protests that the U.S. beef incident did, a strong impact could be felt at the ballot boxes. Already, lawmakers from Park’s governing Saenuri Party are agitated, with some making clear their opposition to the THAAD development. Certainly in their calculus are more minuses than pluses for the chances of their party’s standard bearer to win the December 2017 election. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but what Oh Young-jin misses is that despite the protests created by the lies about US beef pushed by leftist groups and their media allies South Korean conservatives still won the next election. This largely because the lies were exposed for what they were. The protests against THAAD are the same thing people pushing lies. Just like other radars, the THAAD system has a safe keep out zone that the military will position so that it will not harm anyone. The ROK military currently has Patriot and Green Pine radars positioned around the country and we saw no protests about those because there was no political incentive to lie about the safety of those radars like we are seeing with THAAD.
I am sure everyone saw this coming, but I am still surprised she wasn’t at least fined like General Petraeus was for mishandling classified information:
FBI Director James Comey makes a statement at FBI Headquarters in Washington, Tuesday, July 5, 2016. CLIFF OWEN/THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
The FBI won’t recommend criminal charges against Hillary Clinton for her use of a private email server while secretary of state, agency Director James Comey said Tuesday, lifting a major legal threat to her presidential campaign.
Comey’s decision almost certainly brings the legal part of the issue to a close and removes the threat of criminal charges. Attorney General Loretta Lynch said last week that she would accept the recommendations of the FBI director and of career prosecutors.
“No charges are appropriate in this case,” Comey said in making his announcement.
But Comey made that statement after he delivered a blistering review of Clinton’s actions, saying the FBI found that 110 emails were sent or received on Clinton’s server containing classified information. He said Clinton and her aides were “extremely careless” and added that it was possible that people hostile to the U.S. had gained access to her personal email account. [Associated Press]
I wonder what burger joint Trump would hold this proposed summit at? Would Dennis Rodman be invited?:
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Wednesday he would “accept” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to the United States and hold nuclear negotiations with him while eating hamburgers, according to news reports.
“If he came here, I’d accept him,” Trump said during campaigning in Atlanta, reaffirming his willingness to meet with the North’s leader, according to reports. “Who the hell cares? I’ll talk to anybody.”
Trump first expressed his willingness to meet with Kim in an interview last month, drawing criticism not only from critics, but also from his own party that such a meeting would end up bolstering the dictator.
But while Trump has insisted on his willingness to speak to the North’s leader, but said he won’t go to the North for such talks.
Should Kim visit the U.S., Trump said he won’t throw him a state dinner.
“I wouldn’t give him a state dinner like China or all these other nations who are ripping us off,” Trump was quoted as saying. “We should be eating a hamburger on a conference table and making better deals.”
Trump said he will only “make a good deal” if he were to hold talks with the North’s leader.
The real-estate tycoon was also quoted as saying that there’s a “10 percent or 20 percent chance” he could talk Kim out of developing nuclear weapons. [Yonhap]
You can read more at the link, but I think Donald Trump is over estimating his negotiating skills if he thinks he has up to a 20% chance of talking Kim out of developing nuclear weapons. The only deal I can see that would convince the Kim regime of stopping their nuclear weapons development would be to allow them to conquer South Korea. This is obviously something the US would never agree to so what deal does Trump have in mind that would convince them?
A ROK Drop favorite Congressman Ed Royce is of course correct that any legislation that a possible Trump presidency proposes has to go through Congress. The only affect that I see a possible Trump presidency having on South Korea is that they will have to pay more for the upkeep of the US-ROK alliance:
Q. South Koreans have some trepidation over what a Donald Trump presidency may mean for the U.S. alliance with Seoul, such as Washington maintaining U.S. troops on the peninsula and continuing to extend its nuclear umbrella to the region. Should we be concerned?
A. Well, remember the way in which our system works. It is Congress that has passed many of these laws, and whether it is having given Korea NATO-plus-three status, which was a bill that I authored, or whether it’s [the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement] legislation, which I was a co-sponsor of, it is Congress that has passed these bills. And we are deeply committed.
Republicans and Democrats in a bipartisan way feel that this is a very important alliance for our members in Congress. For our House members and Senate members, this is a strongly held position. And it is Congress that passes the laws. Every spending bill originates in the House of the Representatives. I’m chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee; we have 44 members, and we have set these policies. I’ve been traveling here for over 20 years, and for 10 of those years, I was chairman of the inter-parliamentary exchange working with the [Korean] National Assembly. I would say I’ve never seen the relationship as strong as it is today… and I think it’s going to get stronger. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
By the way Congressman Royce has a lot more in the interview that is worth reading at the link.
That is what some experts in China believe when compared to his competitor Hillary Clinton:
China features prominently in the rhetoric of presumed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, who accuses the country of stealing American jobs and cheating at global trade. In China though, he’s only just emerging as a public figure, despite notoriety elsewhere for his voluble utterances, high-profile businesses and reality TV shows.
Although the government has denounced Trump’s threats of economic retaliation, many Chinese observers see a silver lining in his focus on economic issues instead of human rights and political freedoms. That could make him an attractive alternative to his likely rival, Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Trump “could in fact be the best president for China,” Hong Kong Phoenix Television political commentator Wu Jun said during a recent on-air discussion.
“That’s because the Republican Party is more practical and Trump is a businessman who puts his commercial interests above everything else,” Wu said. Clinton, on the other hand, “might be the least friendly president toward China.” [Associated Press]
You can read more at the link, but considering all of Clinton links to Chinese money it seems like she would be the preferred Chinese government candidate despite her human rights rhetoric.
It looks like if Ban Ki-moon wants the job as President of South Korea, it is his to lose:
UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon pays his respects to seniors at the Hahoe Folk Village in Andong, North Gyeongsang, on Sunday. [JOINT PRESS COPRS]UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon led all potential presidential contenders in a poll after he made the strongest hint yet of a possible run in next year’s election.
In a poll conducted by the JoongAng Ilbo on Friday and Saturday of 1,000 eligible voters nationwide, respondents were asked who they would like to see as Korea’s next president. Ban topped the list with 28.4 percent, followed by Moon Jae-in of the Minjoo Party of Korea with 16.2 percent. Ahn Cheol-soo, co-leader of the People’s Party, came in third with 11.9 percent.
The poll was seen as a testament to Ban’s far-reaching appeal to voters and a favorable image formed by his 10-year leadership of the United Nations.
Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, who expressed an objection to Ban running, citing a UN resolution that calls on UN chiefs to refrain from taking government jobs, came in fourth with 7.2 percent, trailed by former Saenuri Chairman Kim Moo-sung with 4.2 percent.
In a three-way race with Moon and Ahn, both from the liberal bloc, Ban was far ahead of the two, with 45.7 percent of support, while Moon received 24.6 percent and Ahn had 20.1 percent. Of all respondents, 9.7 percent said they didn’t have a favorite. [Joong Ang Ilbo]
You can read the rest at the link.
I have always liked Ban Ki-moon because when he was the foreign minister of South Korea he was the voice of sanity during the administration of Roh Moo-hyun. Even during the fervent anti-American years Ban Ki-moon would still visit US military installations in Korea to thank US servicemembers for their service. With that all said he is running the UN about as I expected. Ban is a consensus builder and not a change agent. He can run things low key and competently within an established framework which right now it appears this is what Korean voters want for their President.
I am not sure why Trump continues to go after South Korea on this issue, when it comes to freeloading US allies South Korea is not the best example to use in my opinion:
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said Wednesday that South Korea should pay for all costs related to U.S. troop presence in the country. Trump made the remark in an interview with CNN, reiterating his long-running argument that the U.S. should be prepared to let allies defend themselves unless they pay more for American defense support. “Why not a 100 percent?” Trump said as the interviewer pointed out that Seoul already shoulders about 50 percent of the cost.
Asked if he meant that countries like South Korea, Japan and Germany should pick up all the expenses, Trump said, “Of course they should pick up all the expense. Why are we paying for this?” Trump also said the U.S. should be “prepared to walk” unless allies pay more, referring apparently to the potential troop withdrawal. In that case, the countries should defend themselves “against North Korea (where) we have a maniac.” “If they don’t take care of us properly, if they don’t respect us enough to take care of us properly, then you know what will have to happen? Very simple, they’re going to have to defend themselves,” he said. [Yonhap]
The rumor mill is circulating that Kim Jong-un is going to use his big political convention this week to promote his younger sister Kim Yo-jong to a higher level within the government. It makes sense for him considering she is trusted family and is female, thus no threat to replace him in male dominated North Korea:
Kim Yo-jong
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may promote his youngest sister to a ministerial-level post as he moves to consolidate power during the ruling party congress that begins Friday, experts say.
The 7th Workers’ Party Congress — the first in 36 years — is expected to last three days, It comes against the backdrop of rising international tensions after the North staged its fourth nuclear test in early January, followed by a long-range rocket launch and other attempted missile tests despite harsh new U.N. sanctions.
Kim has given little hint of what he plans for the congress. But the 33-year-old leader is expected to use the chance to put his stamp on power and extinguish doubts about his lack of experience and military credentials after inheriting power from his father, who died of a heart attack in late 2011.
North Korea watchers say one possibiluty would be promoting his youngest sister, Kim Yo Jong, who is one of his closest confidantes. [Stars & Stripes]
