From the Korea Times, ‘Seoul Could Allow NK’s Nuke Inspection of USFK’:

South Korea’s top diplomat has indicated that Seoul could review Pyongyang’s possible request for a nuclear inspection of… USFK to verify the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula… “If the North raises the issue of inspection and verification in the South, including the facilities of the USFK, we will cope with it rationally by utilizing the 1992 inter-Korean joint declaration, which contains the principle of mutual inspection” … It means the U.S. military installations in South Korea could technically become the target of inspections, if Seoul gives the nod to Pyongyang’s choice of American bases… Such permission from Seoul would raise a serious diplomatic row with Washington, given that the United States has sovereignty over its military installations in South Korea. (emphasis added)

Going back to the headline, in reality Seoul could ask USFK to allow inspections, but Seoul cannot mandate that, per standing agreements with the U.S. This certainly smells of Roh’s previous comments on what he said USFK can and cannot do, although he has no authority in the matters.

Then there’s this from YONHAP, ‘Seoul must be involved in peace talks on the peninsula‘:

South Korea will have to be involved in any talks to replace the current cease-fire on the Korean Peninsula with a peace regime, the country’s No. 2 official said on Monday… “The issue (of bringing permanent peace to the peninsula) will be raised if the six-way talks (on North Korea’s nuclear program) move forward for the denuclearization of the peninsula and U.S.-North Korea relations are normalized.” South Korea will have no choice but to join the negotiating table to discuss ways of scrapping the armistice and introducing a permanent peace deal, he added.

Although the U.S. is not obligated to allow inspections on USFK facilities by DPRK inspectors, I am sure they would to facilitate progress in the Six-Party Talks process. Likewise, since the Korean War armistice was between the U.S. and the DPRK, the U.S. is not obligated to allow the ROK in on negotiations for an actual treaty, although the U.S. surely will, and even insist that the South is involved. The point here is that it is completely inappropriate for South Korea to be demanding these things.

And South Korea’s Foreign Ministry can hire a PR firm to help them out with positive “spin” in presenting their policies, but it will only amount to putting perfume on a pile of dung. The solution is to remove the dung, not try to cover it up. Hint to the PM; trying to tell the U.S. what to do is the proverbial dung.