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Can South Korea’s Moon Jae-in find a path to reconciliation with North Korea?
Donald Kirk considers the dilemma confronting the South Korean president, as he seeks an independent course that balances a need for US defence protection with his wish for dialogue – and reconciliation – with the North
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South Korean President Moon Jae-in must be a severe disappointment to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Far from fulfilling the dreams of some of the extremists who supported him in the snap election in May, which ended nearly a decade of conservative rule, he prefers to show serious resolve in the face of the North’s refusal to back down from escalating threats.
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North Korea’s propaganda machine has not yet begun cascading personal insults on Moon, as it did on his predecessor, Park Geun-hye, now ousted from office, jailed and facing sentencing in a wide-ranging corruption scandal. But Moon is under fire for yielding to American demands, kowtowing to Washington and abandoning the cause of peace.
That’s to be expected, after Moon not only applauded the latest UN sanctions on North Korea but said perhaps it would be necessary to strengthen them – and then compounded this show of determination by calling for a “complete and thorough overhaul” of South Korea’s already formidable armed forces.
Moon, however, is no pro-America pushover. Actually, he is attempting to pursue an independent course that’s likely to alter South Korea’s relationship with the United States, even as US President Donald Trump vows to heap “fire and fury” on the North. Hours after Trump’s warning, the North ratcheted up its own threats to fire missiles on US targets, by singling out the strategic US Pacific territory of Guam.
Watch: North Korea threatens Guam after Trump warns of ‘fire and fury’
If America and its allies believe Kim Jong-un will give up his nuclear arsenal, they are deluded
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