This article was originally posted on 1945.
President-elect Yoon Suk-yeol will have a positive impact on the ROK/U.S. alliance and on the security of the Republic of Korea.
However, we must be aware of the propaganda and rhetoric that will likely emerge from both North Korea and the political opposition that will argue that he is too close to and too aligned with the U.S. We must keep in mind that the national security interests of both the ROK and the U.S. benefit from the alliance and it is the interests of both nations to ensure we have a strong alliance.
South Korea Must Step Up
President-elect Yoon has laid out his vision for national security in his February Foreign Affairs article and in a recent Washington Post interview. In short, his vision is that it is time for South Korea to step up – in the ROK/U.S. alliance, in the region, and around the world because the ROK is an important player on the global stage.
We will see a defense of democratic values, the rules-based international order, cooperation with other like-minded countries, and alignment with entities such as the Quad. Korea is the only country in the world to go from a major aid recipient following the Korean War armistice to a major donor nation after the Miracle on the Han. It stands as an example for the developing nations around the world. We should expect to see strong solidarity with Ukraine as it experiences similar attacks as Korea did in 1950.
Hostile Policy
What we are going to see between the ROK and the U.S. is sufficient alignment of assumptions about the nature, objectives, and strategy of the Kim family regime. I believe the president-elect has a realistic understanding of North Korea and its goals and these are more in synch with the U.S. than the previous administration.
The alliance will focus on the security of the ROK through readiness and deterrence. The president-elect will remind Korea, the region, and the world that the alliance exists to defend South Korea and the U.S.in the Asia Pacific region.
In his recent Washington Post interview, he called North Korea the main enemy. This recognizes that Kim Jong-un seeks to dominate the Korean peninsula under the rule of the Guerrilla Dynasty and the Gulag State to ensure the survival of the mafia-like crime family cult known as the Kim family regime. The regime uses subversion, coercion, extortion (blackmail diplomacy), and ultimately will use force to try to achieve unification on Kim’s terms.
This is a two-track approach – political warfare to subvert the South and manipulate the U.S. and international community, and the development of advanced warfighting capabilities to be able to attack the South. These two tracks guide all actions from the north. He is correctly calling out Kim for his hostile policy toward the ROK and the U.S. No longer will Kim be able to get away with saying the U.S. and the ROK have a hostile policy. The ROK/U.S. alliance seeks security and stability, economic growth, and ultimately peaceful unification in Korea. Kim seeks hostile domination.
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