One Angry South Korean & “National Wake-up Call”
by James Na ~ October 11th, 2006. Filed under: Engagement. WaPo describes the “chill” in North-South Korea relations in the aftermath of “The Test“:
“The joy I felt when I first signed up for the reunions was indescribable — such elation at the thought of seeing even one of my children again,” he said, slipping a bony finger under his watchmaker’s monocle to dry his tears. “But the North Koreans have robbed me of my chance. They have tricked us and deceived us, using our hearts to open our wallets. All they wanted was South Korean money, and now they’ve tested this thing, this bomb. They have what they wanted and I’ve lost hope of ever seeing my family again.”Lee’s views echo the changing sentiments across South Korea in the wake of Monday’s purported test, which was something of a national wake-up call in a country where the perception of a North Korean threat had all but evaporated after years of detente.
One can only hope that this sentiment will persist.
October 11th, 2006 at 9:00 am
The North Korean people do not win anything with their government’s nuclear test. Instead, they are the biggest loosers. I say this because if a war happens on the Korean penninsula, the North Korean people will suffer the most due to the actions of their leaders.
October 11th, 2006 at 9:48 am
Even if there is no war, the North Korean people are still the biggest losers. The only way to help them, aside from war or all out appeasement, is to hurt the elite.
October 12th, 2006 at 4:59 am
It’s like a date rape victim waking up the next morning and realizing what happened…