Just a day after the North Korean dictator’s sister Kim Yo-jong’s apparent blackmail attempt over upcoming U.S.-South Korean joint military exercises, leftists in Seoul are again bowing down to her will by trying to delay or cancel the drills.
A senior official from the presidential Blue House told the media on August 2 that “South Korea and the United States are discussing the issue by considering various situations comprehensively.” The official added that “the Blue House’s position is the same as that presented by the Ministry of Defense.”
The Ministry of Defense told the media earlier in the day that “the two countries are discussing this issue closely by considering various factors including the COVID-19 situation, maintaining joint military preparedness, and diplomatic efforts for achieving permanent peace in the Korean Peninsula.”
“For some days I have been hearing an unpleasant story that joint military exercises between the South Korean army and the U.S. forces could go ahead as scheduled,” North Korea’s Kim Yo-jong said on August 1. “I view this as an undesirable prelude which seriously undermines the will of the top leaders of the north and the south wishing to see a step taken toward restoring mutual trust and which further beclouds the way ahead of north-south relations.”
She continued as follows.
“Our government and army will closely follow whether the South Korean side stages hostile war exercises in August or makes other bold decision. Hope or despair? Choice is not made by us.”
Rep. Sul Hoon of the ruling Democratic Party (DP) argued that “the joint military exercise scheduled for late August should be postponed.” He added that “we just ignited the engine of resumption of the inter-Korean cooperation, and we should make it a new starting point for the Korean peninsula’s peace process.”
Sul Hoon, along with 76 other leftist lawmakers, held a press conference last month. There, he argued “it is time to take proactive approaches to bring North Korea back to the negotiation table, and we urge the two nations to postpone the joint military exercise.”
Song Young-gil, leader of the DP, defended the exercises. He said, “this year’s military exercise will be conducted at the command center level by using simulation method.” He argued that “this is not a hostile exercise as Vice Department Director Kim Yo-jong thinks and it is necessary for the transfer of wartime Operational Control Authority [OPCON].”
Thae Yong-ho, a former senior North Korean diplomat who became a South Korean lawmaker for the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), argued that the Moon Jae-in administration should not be submissive to the Kim family.
“Submitting to blackmail by Kim Jong-un’s siblings and canceling the joint military exercise would make South Korea lose its leadership in inter-Korean relations and make it become hostage to North Korea’s nuclear weapons,” he said. Thae also said that “time is on our side” and that “North Korea expressed its nervousness over the economic situation.”
Thae added that South Korea should react by keeping to its own principles and hold the joint military exercise as scheduled, which will allow South Korea to gain leadership in the relationship and bring North Korea back to the negotiating table with the United States.
Representative Thae also said that the latest comment by the U.S. Department of Defense is a sign that reflects their discomfort with the ongoing discussion about canceling the joint military exercise.
On July 30, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Defense told the Voice of America that “the ROK-U.S. Alliance remains at a high level of readiness, and continues to maintain a robust combined defense posture to protect the Republic of Korea against any threat or adversary while implementing and maintaining prudent preventive control measures to protect the force.”
The spokesperson added that “combined training events are a ROK-U.S. bilateral decision, and any decisions will be a mutual agreement.” Representative Thae emphasized that the United States is emphasizing the “mutual agreement” part of the statement. The South Korean media reported that the U.S. defense department reiterated the same statement when asked about Kim Yo-jong’s comment.
“Efforts to talk with North Korea are necessary, but they should not make a mistake and have our national security be taken hostage,” said Rep. Hwangbo Seung-hee, spokeswoman for the PPP. “People would like to hear the U.S. defense department spokesperson’s statement that ‘there is no place in the world where exercises are more important than the Korean Peninsula’ from our government officials.” She was referring to the statement made in January by John Kirby, spokesperson of the U.S. Defense Department, that read “we recognize value of training and exercise to keep forces ready and no place is more important than on the Korean Peninsula.”
Choe Jae-hyeong, former head of the South Korean Board of Audit and Inspection under the Moon administration and a presidential candidate from the conservative camp, criticized the administration for taking a vague stance on this critical issue. “Kim Yo-jong released a threatening statement asking for the cancellation of the joint military exercises, and it almost sounds like she is giving an order to the South Korean commander in chief,” he said. “How long is this government going to try to read North Korea’s mind while threatening South Korean citizens?”
He added that “the joint military exercise is an indispensable exercise that is aimed at protecting us from North Korean nuclear threats, and the government should not try to use North Korea for its political interests ahead of the next presidential election.” He was referring to speculation that the Moon Jae-in administration is trying to hold another summit with Kim Jong-un, possibly by taking advantage of the Winter Olympics in Beijing next year.
Kim Yo-jong appears to wield considerable influence over South Korean leftists. Last year, Rep. Song Young-gil, who later became the leader of the DP, introduced the bill to ban sending leaflets to North Korea within a month of a threatening remark on the subject from Kim Yo-jong. Conservatives in South Korea criticized the bill, calling it a disgraceful submission to Kim Yo-jong’s orders.
