UPDATE: Already several conservative commentators are jumping on this as appeasement, but that’s not really the problem at all. The problem is that South Korea, already chagrined at the idea of being frozen out of agreements, will need to be coaxed back into believing that the United States will not sacrifice South Korean security for purely American interests. Although there were no concessions drawn, keep in mind that the meeting itself was a concession.
This is not wrong; in fact, the meeting was very much the right thing to do. Nevertheless, with a country as diplomatically isolated as North Korea, meetings with high-level officials from any country are noteworthy. (Also worth noting, North Korea specifically requested Clinton, knowing the publicity it would bring and making clear that they do not trust any Bush-era envoys.)
Despite the high-profile kidnapping of Ling and Lee, numerous South Korean citizens are still detained by North Korea (the crew of a captured fishing boat and a Hyundai worker in Kaesong), who do not have the luxury of a high-level negotiator to release them and were not part of any negotiation done by President Clinton.
ORIGINAL POST: The news of the release of reporters Laura Ling and Euna Lee from North Korea following President Bill Clinton’s visit to Pyongyang is fantastic news for them and their families, as well as those hoping for more negotiability in North Korea. The news has been reported euphorically and it deserves to be celebrated.
That said, it’s important to consider how this may affect the United States’ standing in South Korea. One must keep in mind that Korea, after being pushed around by great powers for the last century, is usually displeased with meddling on the peninsula without consultation. And although I’m sure the South Korean government was informed of Clinton’s trip, I doubt they were fully briefed on exactly what message he was carrying. When the United States meets with the North directly, it can come as an insult to the South, who will feel the brunt of any decision made by such a meeting, particularly if concessions are made.
Consider this editorial from Chosun-Ilbo, one of South Korea’s Big Three newspapers, which expresses worry about the Clinton visit:
Hearing the news of Clinton’s Pyongyang visit, many will have been perplexed and even felt betrayed by the U.S. But the development is merely a manifestation of the dynamics of international politics, which are nothing but the pursuit of national interests. South Korea will have to look at the situation coolly and realistically. What the U.S. fears most is for terrorist organizations hostile to it to acquire nuclear weapons from North Korea. Removing the danger is the top U.S. priority. It is needless to ask how Washington will choose if its national interest clashes with South Korea’s position.
Current President Lee Myung-bak, after taking his share of hits for the U.S. beef importation conflict (if you aren’t familiar, it must be read to be believed), may have been looking at a difficult time selling his tougher stance against North Korea, but the Clinton visit opens a door for him. Lee is also an outspoken opponent of the Sunshine Policy, which attempted to open up North Korea (and with the test of North Korea’s nuclear weapon, would be described in conservative circles as a failure). If South Korea believes that the United States is not fully in its corner, it may not fully validate the results of a U.S.-North Korea summit, just as it failed to ratify the armistice ending the Korean War.
One plank of Obama’s foreign policy platform was that the United States should listen to the world rather than dictate. With the possibility of nuclear weapons on the loose, the general disarray of North Korea in the face of the health of Dear Leader, and the never-ending instability on the Korean Peninsula, we should probably be listening carefully.
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