It seems that the South Korean government has chosen a strategy of international cooperation on the \u201cCheonan incident.\u201d To put the conclusion first, let us be clear: this is a good strategy.<\/p>\n
According to media reports released on the afternoon of the 7th, President Lee has decided to recruit international experts for the investigation into the incident’s cause and, if the North is found to have been involved in the sinking of the Cheonan, to pursue the putting back of North Korea on the international community\u2019s list of terrorism sponsoring nations. <\/p>\n
For the time being, however, President Lee is remaining strictly neutral. At a Cabinet meeting held on the 6th, he stated clearly, “(With the participation of international experts) only when a conclusion comes out can our government take a firm stance based on that conclusion,” and emphasized, “clarifying the cause of the sinking of the Cheonan is not just an issue of interest to our country. It is an urgent concern which is attracting the attention of member countries of the G-20 and the Six-Party Talks, and therefore trust in the outcome is important.” <\/p>\n
President Lee appears also to be moving with South Korea\u2019s domestic problems very much in mind. In the words of one official from the President\u2019s office, “This has become a very sensitive issue because one side believes that North Korea was involved in the Cheonan incident, while the other side expects them to be cleared.” This very much means that the incident must be addressed with transparent objectivity<\/p>\n
As the official said, today\u2019s South Korea is suffering from serious internal divisions, to a point where social integration is emerging as an important concern. Practically, it is a political and ideological \u201ccivil war.\u201d<\/p>\n
And when we trace the roots of this conflict, we find North Korean problems hiding deep inside. This so-called \u201cSouth-South Conflict\u201d between left- and right-wingers is one which first appeared during the Kim Dae Jung era, and shows no signs of abating. <\/p>\n
Sunshine Policy enthusiasts claim that their policy failed because \u201cconservative forces\u201d hindered it. However, the failure of the Sunshine Policy was caused by just one thing; a diagnostic error about North Korea. That is to say this: misunderstanding the Kim Jong Il regime was the root cause of the failure, and the failure of the policy was inevitable. That the failure was not caused by \u201cconservatives\u201d can be proven using a great deal of objective evidence, not least several military provocations and the very existence of the North Korean nuclear threat. <\/p>\n
And yet, in the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee held on the 6th, a Democratic Party member asked NSI Chief Won Se Hun, “Isn’t it rather difficult to believe that this was done with Kim Jong Il’s permission, considering the existence of issues such as the Kim Jong Eun succession, preparations to visit China and the chaotic situation following the failure of the currency redenomination?”<\/p>\n
If such a question simply meant, \u201cLet us not conclude that this was a North Korean act until the Cheonan has been salvaged,\u201d it would not be wrong, indeed it would be wise. However, if we do indeed consider the \u201cexistence of issues such as the Kim Jong Eun succession, preparations to visit China and the chaotic situation following the failure of the currency redenomination,\u201d it is a surprise that anyone feels able to conclude that the possibility of it being a North Korean provocation is quite that low. <\/p>\n
After all, from Kim Jong Il’s point of view, having the \u201cSouth Korean puppets\u201d provoke North Korea to a reasonable point is not a bad thing. It would at least give him an excuse to announce a \u201cquasi-state of war,\u201d thus allowing him to \u201cunite the people with the General at the center\u201d and take a firm grip of public sentiment amidst a chaotic situation.<\/p>\n
That North Korea has a tendency to use external shocks to unite the inside is a piece of basic knowledge needed to understand the North Korean regime’s foreign and domestic strategies. <\/p>\n
The current Kim Jong Il regime, as with so many dictators in times past, can only exist when there is a \u201ctarget of struggle.\u201d After purging the dictator\u2019s internal enemies such as real or supposed North Korean anti-Party factions, imperialism becomes the repeated target of the struggle. The \u201cSouth Korean Puppet government\u201d is an eternal target for a North Korean regime over-reaching to legitimize itself. <\/p>\n
And, of course, everybody knows that the current Kim Jong Il regime needs to create a tense situation in Korea in order to look for ways to survive, such as via US-North Korea bilateral talks. <\/p>\n
It is sad but true that we cannot solve this incident on our own; we have to receive help from the U.S. and other allies because we are living in an era of disunited public opinion. However, let us not be too disappointed, for a strategy to solve the Cheonan incident based on international cooperation also has its benefits. <\/p>\n
First of all, it will preemptively strengthen international cooperation, which is good in case it is later revealed that North Korea was responsible for the sinking. This will give us the dominant position in any outbreaks of diplomatic war that may follow. If it is revealed that North Korea was involved in the incident, even China cannot protect Pyongyang from charges of ‘terrorism,’ which is most certainly a crime. <\/p>\n
Secondly, it will give us an advantage in objectively informing international society of the violent nature of the Kim Jong Il regime. By globalizing North Korean issues, we can also drive the Kim Jong Il regime slowly towards seeing the unavoidability of playing by the international rules. <\/p>\n
Thirdly, North Korea problems are partly domestic in nature, but from an objective point of view the whole problem is an \u201cinternational issue.\u201d In this sense, officially choosing a strategy of international cooperation shows that our country has an eye for strategy. <\/p>\n
Fourth, to be prepared for big changes to the North Korean system or sudden internal turmoil at any time, there is a need for us to ‘practice’ international cooperation in advance. If or when North Korea suddenly falls into uncontrolled turmoil, international cooperation with South Korea at its core will be essential. <\/p>\n
However, international cooperation will not totally solve the problem. There is one more thing. <\/p>\n
For if it is revealed that North Korea sank the Cheonan, in the end South Korea will have to be ready with a punishment of its own. This cannot be ignored, but it is not easy to do via international cooperation. We need to be ready with a program that can force Kim to recognize clearly that his life could be at stake if he does something like that again. Allies cannot help us with this task. That is why our ‘ability’ should be developed by us and us alone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
It seems that the South Korean government has chosen a strategy of international cooperation on the \u201cCheonan incident.\u201d To put the conclusion first, let us be clear: this is a good strategy. According to media reports released on the afternoon of the 7th, President Lee has decided to recruit international experts for the investigation into […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":165,"featured_media":11734,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11732","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n