Korea’s Leftward Turn

The victory by the left of center candidate in the presidential elections in South Korea will lead to all sorts of changes, our Donald Kirk reports from Seoul. The president-elect, Lee Jae-myung of the Minju, or Democratic, party, is going to want to improve ties with Red China and resume a dialogue with North Korea. That latter is particularly worrisome, and, sadly, part of the blame can be laid to President Trump.It’s hard to know what to make, net-net, of the 45th president’s outreach to the North Korean dictator, replete with what Mr. Trump has called “beautiful letters,” adding, “We fell in love.” Even if Mr. Trump didn’t mean that phrase literally, his form of direct diplomacy can only weaken the hard liners in the South who have been holding out for long-held principles in respect of our relations with Korea. Mr. Trump’s demarche has so far won nothing.One result of Mr. Lee’s overtures to China, and to North Korea if the North’s leader, Kim Jong-un, should he be so kind as to condescend to talk to him, will be to open up political rifts in the South. Conservatives, having lost the election, are not going to sit back and tell Mr. Lee, “It’s all yours, do whatever you want.” Korea just impeached two presidents, after all. They’ll protest about what they may well see as caving in to the South’s worst enemies.Then there will be the whole question of South Korea’s historic relationship with America. The bond, our Donald Kirk reminds us, goes to the fabric of South Korean society. It spans every area of human endeavor, ranging from one-on-one personal relations to cultural, economic, and, most importantly, military matters. These attachments are not superficial. They cannot be torn apart or compromised just because national leaders disapprove of them.One thing that’s sure to come up first among leftists, American and Korean, is the need for the Korean-American alliance. There has been a move in Congress to adopt an “end-of-war” declaration, proclaiming the Korean War is over and putting paid to the armistice signed 72 years ago next month. Yet the Korean War armistice has worked infinitely better than many a peace treaty, miraculously holding the line against a second Korean War.An end-of-war declaration would be a prelude to an agreement to withdraw American troops altogether and to leave Korea on its own against its mortal foe above the demilitarized zone that’s divided North from South all these years. Sure, South Korea’s armed forces are infinitely better than they were even 10 years or 20 years ago. But guess what? North Korea is not the only enemy up there. What about Communist China and Russia?Let us not forget that those two giants were North Korea’s staunchest allies in the Korean War. The Communist regime that Kim Jong-un’s grandfather, Kim Il-sung, founded in 1945 would not have survived if the Chinese troops had not poured in to stop the American and South Korean forces. North Korea is counting on them again. We cannot run out on South Korea when we’re needed, as much as ever, to ensure the South’s survival.That would be a catastrophic mistake at a time when North Korea has become Russia’s most valuable friend and ally in the war in Ukraine. Kim Jong-un, besides sending troops, has also been feeding the Russians millions of artillery shells and other armaments. All the more reason to stick by South Korea as one of our closest friends in a contest with grave repercussions not just for Korea but for the region.

Korea’s Leftward Turn

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