National Security Is a Non-Issue in S Korean Presidential Campaign

North Korean soldiers march in the truce village of Panmunjom, in the demilitarised zone separating the two Koreas, about 34 miles north of Seoul, April 4, 2007. Macau authorities are set to release all of the frozen funds North Korea has cited as a reason for refusing to shut its nuclear facilities, the U.S. Treasury Department said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Jo Yong-Hak



National Security Is a Non-Issue in Presidential Campaign by Kim Dae-joong

While the country is in the midst of a presidential election campaign, our national security is under threat. Once, presidential candidates competed with each other in making grand security pledges. But this time, national security is being pushed aside, or rather emerging as an unfavorable factor in mobilizing public opinion. In a word, far from being a mainstay of election campaigns, it is becoming something to be avoided.
North Korea's nuclear capabilities, despite being a key issue for our security, are becoming a fait accompli through the presidential elections and six-party talks. The U.S. talks about denuclearization but keeps mum about North Korea's existing nuclear weapons and materials. Influential Chinese commentators like Shi Yinghong, noting that North Korea never proclaimed it will abandon its nuclear weapons, pretend to criticize the North's nuclear weapons but treat them as a fait accompli. Until North Korea abandons its nuclear capabilities, our security is threatened.
What's more, North Korea recently succeeded in test-firing a ballistic missile dubbed KN-02. Gen. Burwell Bell, the commander of the U.S. Forces Korea, said the missile, using solid fuel, is easy to fire and move, and that the 120 km-range missile targets Seoul and other South Korean cities. Richard Lawless, who resigned as deputy under secretary of defense in June, noted the missile's mobility and precision and said its range exactly targets South Korea. Judging by the scale of the North's nuclear weapons and the range of the missile that would deliver them, North Korea’s nuclear weapons are for use not against the U.S. but South Korea.
Backed by such terrifying military strength, North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is talking bigger. Apparently regarding South Korea as a mere rice and fertilizer supplier, he proposed U.S.-North Korea military talks. From the South, North Korea demanded anew that the National Security Law should be abolished and the Northern Limit Line, the de facto sea boundary between the two Koreas, redrawn. That is tantamount to asking the South to concede territory and attempts to neutralize the South's symbolic defense bulwark against the North.
Many citizens, however, relaxed since they felt security would improve if the Grand National Party wins the election, which its poll lead suggests it will. But the GNP has changed its North Korea policy and declared it will continue economic aid to the North even if Pyongyang does not promise to abandon its nukes. This, too, effectively accepts the North's nuclear capabilities. The whole policy is a surrender document showing that the party won't mind even if the North has or manufactures more nuclear weapons. The GNP appears to have quietly rallied behind the Sunshine Policy to pander to public opinion, which it believes is inclined to appeasement. As far as national security goes, one might prefer a party that openly advocates the Sunshine Policy: opportunists like the GNP are more dangerous. It’s a sad spectacle to see even the two GNP frontrunners busy finding out how the wind blows and trying to please both sides. No matter which party or candidate gets elected, national security is bound to get worse.
People concerned about national security have no one they can trust. The U.S., entangled in Iraq, won't be able to expand the front further and is ready to compromise on preventing North Korea from exporting nuclear devices. China effectively accepts the North's nuclear capabilities and is only interested in its hegemonic struggle with the U.S. Our government as well as the major opposition party and its presidential contenders attach secondary importance to national security and have started bargaining with our potential enemy. The citizens are adrift on a rudderless ship. The Republic of Korea may be on its way out.