South Korean president is facing increasing resistance in Washington
This week, several influential members of the U.S. Senate and House are coming out against President Moon Jae-in’s unrealistic plan to declare an end to the Korean War.
Jim Risch (R-Idaho), the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, sent a statement to the Voice of America on Tuesday that said the declaration will be a gift to North Korea and China that will not help South Korea.
“It also needs to focus on ensuring the United States and South Korea are in lockstep on North Korea,” he said. “I am concerned about the Moon [Jae-in] Administration’s proposal for an end of war declaration. It will not make South Korea safer, and is a gift not only to North Korea, but also to China.”
The VOA reported that this was the first time a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which oversees foreign relations and national security, expressed concerns about the end-of-war declaration.
Congressman Chris Smith (R-New Jersey) also sent a statement to the VOA on Tuesday pressing the Biden administration not to declare an end to the war.
“I also strongly caution against joining to a proposed ‘end of war’ declaration introduced by the Moon administration, which acquiesces to Kim Jong-un’s demands by effectively delinking human rights improvements and denuclearization,” he said. “The United States and the Republic of Korea must demand more accountability from North Korea, not less.”
Congressman Smith, who also co-chairs the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, also emphasized the importance of dealing with the human rights situation in North Korea.
“North Korea under Kim Jong-un remains the totalitarian dictatorship it always has been,” he said. “He puts the interests of the Kim family dynasty ahead of his people – for example, claiming that North Korea has no COVID-19 cases while rejecting offers of millions of vaccine doses, leaving its population vulnerable to explosive outbreaks.”
Congressman Smith argued that “against this backdrop, political prisoners are undoubtedly the most vulnerable group in North Korea as the pandemic has reportedly worsened an already deteriorating economic as well as human rights situation in North Korea.”
He added that the “Biden administration must appoint a special envoy for North Korean human rights—an important position that remains vacant—to highlight the volatile and worsening human rights situation in the country.”
France’s Senate, on the other hand, unanimously passed a resolution calling for France to support the adoption of the end-of-war declaration on Wednesday. The resolution was proposed in November by the Chairman of the French Senate’s committee on foreign affairs, defense, and armed forces.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian described it as a great initiative, according to the media. The resolution calls for the French government to adopt diplomatic measures to encourage the key stakeholders of the Korean War, including the two Koreas, the United States, and China, to declare an end to the war.
Meanwhile, the South Korean non-profit organization Tongil Korea asked the main presidential candidates about their thoughts on the declaration. Top liberal candidate Lee Jae-myung from the ruling Democratic Party (DP), Ahn Cheol-soo from the People’s Party, and Kim Dong-yeon from the independent party agreed to declare an end to the war. Yoon Seok-yeol from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) was the only candidate who argued that denuclearization should come first. Shim Sang-jung from the Justice Party did not respond to the organization’s question.
According to the organization, Lee Jae-myung argued that the declaration is essential, as it will serve as an aid in establishing a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula. Ahn Cheol-soo said that the declaration is needed if it guarantees a path toward denuclearization. Yoon Seok-yeol, on the other hand, argued that a peace agreement should be the final goal followed by full implementation of an inter-Korean agreement on denuclearization of the peninsula and establishment of military trust.
The foreign media is also raising concerns about the U.S.-South Korea disconnect on the declaration.
The Financial Times ran an article titled “South Korea forges ahead with end-of-war declaration despite US reservations.”
The article argued that “South Korea’s president Moon Jae-in is pressing ahead with his quest to declare an end to the Korean War despite months of fruitless diplomacy that have exposed divisions between Seoul and Washington.”
It added, “But doubts in Washington, Pyongyang and Beijing have frustrated his hopes of securing a long-sought political legacy as a peacemaker, illustrating the complexity of reconciling the competing interests of the four parties to a 70-year conflict.”
With only a few months left in Moon’s term, Washington looks content to wait for a new president to take over before making big decisions on North Korea policy.
