Tag: South Korea

This is really a continuation of long standing ROK policy of maintaining the status quo which has allowed South Korea to continue to be a prosperous country. Seeking regime change that would lead to a massive war with a possible nuclear exchange and humanitarian crisis is clearly not in the ROK’s national interest:

President Yoon Suk-yeol said, Wednesday, that South Korea will not pursue any efforts for regime change or any other intervention that can alter the current political system of North Korea, adding that Seoul is not in a position to guarantee Pyongyang’s security. 

The president also ruled out the possibility of South Korea acquiring its own nuclear weapons against evolving North Korean nuclear threats, saying the country is committed to the global nuclear non-proliferation regime.

He made the remarks during a press conference held to mark the 100th day of his presidency. 

“Guaranteeing the security of the North Korean regime is not something that South Korea can provide,” Yoon told reporters. “But neither I nor the government wants the status quo changed unreasonably or by force in North Korea.”

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

The President of the think tank, the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, Dr. Choi Kang has an op-ed in the Chosun Ilbo advocating for using the Three No’s policy to pressure China to reign in North Korea’s nuclear testing:

If necessary, we could officially declare that South Korea is no longer bound by the ‘THAAD Three No’s’ given North Korea’s repeated nuclear and missile threats.  If North Korea conducts another nuclear or missile test in the future, it could constitute a just cause for renouncing the ‘THAAD Three No’s.’  Given China has failed to prevent North Korea from advancing its nuclear capabilities, its rationale for THAAD opposition is weakened.

Recently, President Xi Jinping said that “those who play with fire will eventually get burned.” Instead of trying to impose the ‘THAAD Three No’s’ on South Korea, China should sternly warn North Korea, which has played with fire for the past 16 years since its first nuclear test in 2006.

Asan Institute

You can read more at the link.

If anyone was wondering why President Yoon snubbed Nancy Pelosi during her visit to South Korea, here is the reason:

The top South Korean and Chinese diplomats pledged Thursday to develop closer relations and maintain stable industrial supply chains at a time of deepening rivalry between Beijing and Washington.

South Korea, a longtime U.S. ally, is struggling to strike a balance between Washington and the increasingly assertive foreign policy of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s government. U.S.-Chinese conflict over Taiwan has added to complications for governments that want amicable ties with both sides.

Foreign Ministers Park Jin and Wang Yi, in separate statements, called for the development of relations based on successful three-decade-old commercial ties. They were meeting in the eastern Chinese city of Qingdao.

Stars & Stripes

You can read more at the link.

It will be interesting to see what the Yoon administration decides with this request:

Korea is at a critical juncture over its ties with China as it faces increasing pressure to choose a side amid the intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry, with any decision potentially causing further uncertainties in bilateral relations. 

Currently, Korea has been asked to respond to the U.S. invitation by the end of August to participate in the envisaged strategic alliance of four global chip powerhouses that also includes Japan and Taiwan, also known as the Chip 4 or Fab 4, a platform apparently aimed at countering China’s growing influence in global supply chains.

In addition, Beijing has urged Seoul to stick to the previous Korean government’s commitment to the “Three Nos” policy on the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) deployment, which called for no additional THAAD deployment, no Korean integration into a U.S.-led regional missile defense system and no trilateral alliance with the United States and Japan. 

Foreign Minster Park Jin admitted during the first interpellation session of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration at the National Assembly, Monday, that the U.S. had proposed a preliminary conference on the chip alliance. 

“We have yet to make a decision on whether to participate in the platform,” he said during a session at the National Assembly in Seoul. 

Korea Times

You can read more at the link.

It looks like the Yoon administration may be using what limited political capital they have on another unpopular initiative:

Opposition is growing among teachers and parents alike to the government’s plan to move up the elementary school starting age by one year to 5 starting as early as 2025.

Reporting this year’s key policy plans to President Yoon Suk-yeol last week, the education ministry said it will soon begin discussions on the plan to lower the school starting age from the current 6 to 5 and implement it in 2025 at the earliest upon social consensus. 

Through the plan, the government seeks to take on more child care for young children against the backdrop of low birth rates, close education gaps and eventually help school graduates land jobs and start their careers earlier than now.

Many teachers and parents are, however, voicing objections to the plan that they say could further deepen already fierce competition for grades and put the burden of schooling on the intellectually unprepared 5 year olds. 

Teachers and parents point out the plan could put many students at competitive disadvantages, as the 5- and 6-year-olds who started school at the same time in the transition period will have to compete more for college entrance and job opportunities.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link, but according the article 94% of teachers oppose this and 36 activist groups have come out against it. Anything involving education in Korea becomes a hot button issue as the Yoon administration is finding out.

The Chinese are making threats against South Korea again:

South Korea must “act prudently” and preserve the status quo rather than deploy a second U.S.-made missile defense system, a Chinese diplomat said Wednesday on Twitter.

The United States, not South Korea, has a “malicious intention to deliberately undermine” Beijing’s security by deploying another Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system in South Korea, Liu Xiaoming, China’s special envoy to the two Koreas, said in a tweet.

Stars & Stripes

First of all the U.S. has never offered to deploy a 2nd THAAD battery to South Korea. These batteries are very limited and it is doubtful the U.S. would want two of them on the peninsula at the same time. Secondly the Yoon administration during the campaign said they wanted South Korea to purchase its own THAAD battery.

However, they have already backtracked on this because a THAAD is not something you just go to a car dealership and buy. This is a multi-year long acquisitions process to purchase, build the battery, and train personnel for billions of dollars.  This acquisition would take longer than the 5 years Yoon has in office and likely not worth the political capital to make it happen.

It seems like momentum is building to resolve the forced labor issue between the ROK and Japan:

Foreign Minister Psrk Jin said Monday he believes a summit with Japan will take place once thorny issues, like Japan’s wartime forced labor, are resolved.

“I anticipate that a summit between South Korea and Japan will likely be held when desirable resolutions for ongoing issues, like wartime forced labor, are prepared,” Foreign Minister Park Jin told a parliamentary interpellation session.

Acknowledging that bilateral ties between the two countries are unlikely to recover without such a resolution, Park said the government will aim to find a “reasonable measure” for both countries while respecting the opinions of the victims.

When asked about possible measures to mend ties, Park said the government is reviewing many options such as former National Assembly Speaker Moon Hee-sang’s proposal to launch a fund for the victims backed by both companies and people of South Korea and Japan.

Yonhap

You can read more at the link.