Two from the Chosun Ilbo that both slam Roh; first for misrepresenting the opinions of Koreans to the U.S. congress, and then for what is an another apparent misrepresentation from the Cheong Wa Dae spokesman concerning Roh’s conversation with some U.S. officials in regard to the investigation into Banco Delta Asia accounts. Joongang Ilbo notes Seoul’s “awkward position” in trying to shield Pyongyang from more sanctions, while the Korea Times comments on the problems of the recent Roh visit to Washington including, “Roh’s seemingly double-tongued remarks.” Finishing off the list is a Japanese editorial from the Daily Yomiuri, which calls for unity in pressing North Korea and states that, “S. Korea must get onboard.”

Chosun Ilbo: The President Shames Koreans in the U.S.

President Roh Moo-hyun told U.S. Congress leaders in Washington last week the people who oppose Korea’s sole exercise of operational control of its forces are the very ones who asserted in the past that the U.S. Second Infantry Division must be deployed as a “trip-wire” along the armistice line. But he said it was wrong to employ the troops of a friendly country as a trip-wire.

[…]

It is a fact that some Koreans did support that theory and opposed a move south by the USFK; it must also be true that many of them are opposed to our sole exercise of operational control.

But by crossing the i’s and dotting the t’s, our president goes in front of the U.S. congressional leaders and portrays the Koreans opposed to the handover as happy to sacrifice American lives for their safety. If veterans of our armed forces who fought shoulder to shoulder with U.S. troops heard the story, they would be dumbfounded… Is the president saying that these men, the defense ministers and former Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine officers who shared the joys and sorrows of their American counterparts, object to the handover because they do not share his deep concern for U.S. troops?

At home, the president behaves as if we have to struggle to take over operational control from the U.S., claiming South Korea is “the only country in the world that does not exercise operational control of its own forces”; and he claims that sole exercise of operational control will do wonders for our independence. This is the same president who has berated government officials for being pro-American.

In recent years, some 700,000 Koreans have visited the U.S. on average every year, and 500,000 Americans have come here. There are no barriers between the two countries. What must Koreans and Americans feel when they hear the president say one thing here and quite another in the U.S. in a world of information without borders? On not a few occasions, the president’s doubletalk and the dignity of his utterances have got him into trouble. And now again, he has divided the nation into them and us in front of foreigners with his hypocritical remarks. Koreans hang their heads in shame.

Chosun Ilbo: Shooting the Messenger

A senior Korean Embassy official in Washington told Korean correspondents there on Monday, “The president told U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that the protracted investigation into Banco Delta Asia accounts has a negative impact on the resumption of six-nation talks. He asked for an early conclusion of the investigation.” The official also said, “The South Korean government requested that the U.S. delay enforcing additional sanctions against North Korea because it might make resumption of the talks impossible.”

But a Cheong Wa Dae spokesman said the president “merely told Paulson of a need for harmony between U.S. execution of its domestic law and efforts to resume the six-nation talks; he didn’t ask for an early conclusion of the BDA investigation. Neither did the government ask the U.S. to delay additional sanctions against the North.”

The embassy official did his diplomatic duty in America, took part in the president’s meeting with Paulson, and knows what happened better than anyone else. Cheong Wa Dae, too, ought to know what the chief executive said. Nonetheless, the two tell diametrically different stories about the same incident.

[…]

But if the president made an impossible request when the U.S. has no intention either to lift or to delay sanctions, it is a diplomatic blunder and a disgrace to the nation.

The fact that the South Korean government takes a negative view of Washington’s additional sanctions against North Korea, and that the president got a negative response from the U.S. treasury secretary when he asked for an early conclusion of the BDA investigation, was already reported by the media during the presidential visit, based on confirmation by U.S. officials. Yet since the messenger has already been shot, all that remains to do is examine the causes of the mistake and learn from it so it does not happen again.

Joongang Ilbo: South needs to stand firm

North Korea has refused to take a carrot from Washington, which is offering Pyongyang more incentives than the money frozen in a Macao-based bank. It has worsened the situation by going ahead with missile launches despite international urging to refrain from doing so. This is why the international community has opted to use a “stick” now, as it has judged that it has tried in vain.

The South Korean government is now in a very difficult position. Another burden is the strong reaction from North Korea, which has worsened the security situation on the Korean Peninsula. If North Korea conducts a nuclear test, a situation will arise that the government will have trouble handling. For the international community, the chance of persuading the North or to play a card that can subdue it seems to be slight as well. Then there are the differences between Seoul and its allies, the United States and Japan, in dealing with the North, which increases the tension and can make matters worse.

Nevertheless, Seoul is not edging away from its awkward position that it will stay in line with sanctions outlined in a UN resolution adopted in response to a North Korean missile launch in July, but opposes sanctions going beyond that. Neither the international community nor North Korea will listen to such vague measures.

[…]

This government has tried hard not to agitate the North. Nevertheless, tensions have not eased and we are now at the current sorry state. Humanitarian efforts should be strengthened but if North Korea avoids till the end resolving the nuclear issue, the government needs to devise concrete measures that signal to the North that it, too, will join the sanctions.

Korea Times: Post-Summit Brawl

What a mess! Expectations had not been high even before presidents Roh Moo-hyun and George W. Bush met a week ago, but few expected its aftermath would be so mixed up as this. Embarrassing is the wide gap between Seoul and Washington in interpreting their agreement on how to handle Pyongyang. More absurd are radically conflicting statements about what actually happened during Roh’s meeting with U.S. officials, among Chong Wa Dae, the Foreign Ministry and the Korean embassy.

Of foremost concern is what a “joint comprehensive approach’’ means. Korean officials described it as one of the most significant outcome of the summit, hinting the two countries agreed on a wide range of common tactics toward North Korea. Their U.S. counterparts, however, put little emphasis on either “joint’’ or “comprehensive,’’ saying it just means any effective approach acceptable for both Seoul and Washington. Anyone who has traced the recent Korea-U.S. relationship would rather agree with the latter.

[…]

The U.S. has made it clear the investigations would continue for as long as necessary, while welcoming sanctions by Japan and Australia. Was this kind of summit necessary?

Some officials might say any meeting is better than no meeting at all…

[…]

Compounding this confusion were President Roh’s seemingly double-tongued remarks on America. At least more than once, Roh appeared to be anti-American at home, and pro-American in the U.S. He might be using some eulogies and diplomatic rhetoric, but these were enough to confuse many compatriots at home. The summit was a fiasco in both formality and substance, and should never be repeated.

Daily Yomiuri: More options needed to pressure N. Korea

North Korea has been steadfastly refusing to return to the six-way talks on its nuclear development program and has not shown any intention of agreeing to a moratorium on its missile launches. In light of this, there was no option but to increase pressure on the country.

The government imposed financial sanctions against North Korea on Tuesday. The sanctions effectively ban 15 North Korean-related organizations and trading firms as well as one individual from remitting funds overseas. The sanctions also prevent them from withdrawing funds from financial institutions in Japan.

The measure was decided in line with a U.N. Security Council resolution unanimously adopted on July 15, condemning North Korea’s test-firing of missiles on July 5.

[…]

Although more than two months have passed since the adoption of the resolution, North Korea has been ignoring it. Imposing sanctions was the right course of action for the government to take to show Tokyo intends to live up to the spirit of the resolution because Japan played an active role in bringing the resolution to be adopted.

[…]

The Japanese and Australian governments consulted each other prior to their announcements, and they were timed to coincide just before the start of annual addresses by leaders of member countries at the U.N. General Assembly.

International cooperation is necessary to maximize the effects of the sanctions. The simultaneous announcements by the Japanese and Australian governments clearly showed the necessity of such coordinated action to the international community.

China and South Korea, which have far greater trade with North Korea than Japan or Australia, should impose similar sanctions to see the largest possible effect of the measures.

[…]

However, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday it was opposed to Japan’s imposition of sanctions against North Korea, a comment that runs counter to its support of the July 15 U.N. Security Council resolution.

[…]

Working-level talks among Japan, South Korea and the United States are scheduled to be held soon. Hopefully, such talks will lead to South Korea being persuaded to join international efforts to put pressure on North Korea.

[…]

The Liberal Democratic Party plans to submit a bill to establish a special law on financial sanctions during the extraordinary Diet session to be convened Tuesday. The bill aims at placing restrictions on transactions with overseas bank accounts that are suspected of being involved in money laundering.

It is better to have more options to put pressure on North Korea. The bill should pass the Diet during the next extraordinary session.

—–