Moon administration’s appeasement has eerie echoes in current crisis
As the crisis in Ukraine builds, the South Korean media is pointing out that Seoul’s appeasement policy toward Pyongyang and weakening of the alliance with the United States could result in a similar situation developing on the Korean Peninsula.
On Wednesday, the conservative Munhwa Ilbo newspaper ran an editorial titled, “The tragedy of Ukraine that failed to prepare for the worst-case national security scenario, and Moon Jae-in who is obsessed with peace.”
The editorial argued that politicians and leaders in Ukraine were corrupt and divided even after Russia annexed the Crimean Peninsula in 2014. “They believed too much in the 1994 Budapest Memorandum that agreed upon the dismantling their nuclear arsenal and did not prepare for the worst-case scenario,” the editorial read. The memorandum refers to political agreements signed to provide security assurances by its signatories when Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine acceded to the Treaty of the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The memorandum was originally signed by Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
“Western countries such as the United States, Germany, and France are not free from responsibility for the recent crisis, but it was once again reconfirmed that no one can protect a country that has no will to protect itself,” the editorial said.
“President Moon Jae-in did not know what to do with North Korea’s provocations and has been obedient to China, while constantly calling for the ‘Korean Peninsula Peace Process.’ He presided over a joint meeting of the National Security Council and the Foreign Economic Security Strategy Meeting, but did not directly condemn Russia’s invasion, saying, ‘The United States and Western countries are preparing sanctions and condemning Russia.’”
The editorial highlighted Moon’s comments made on Wednesday that showed his obsession with his own definition of “peace.”
“Even though the war has already started, President Moon said that they need to find ways to solve this situation peacefully through talks and that we should prevent the Ukrainian crisis from having negative impacts on our efforts toward the Korean Peninsula Peace Process,” the editorial read.
This timid approach from Moon mirrors how he is reluctant to condemn North Korean weapons launches that directly threaten South Korean security.
The newspaper argued North Korea and China will closely examine how the United States reacts to the Ukrainian crisis. “Xi Jinping already once said publicly that Korea was a part of China,” it read, possibly linking this to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest statement that “Ukraine was always part of Russia.”
“President Moon’s responses that look like he is just watching fire from across the river will buy distrust of the alliance, and if the alliance weakens, Xi Jinping will also push South Korea just like Putin.”
The Chosun Ilbo newspaper ran an editorial on Wednesday saying that the Ukrainian crisis shows the reality of international politics, where calling for peace does not result in peace as Moon Jae-in attempted to do in his five years in office.
“Peace is a precious value but is commonly used in international politics as a means or excuse for achieving someone’s purpose,” the editorial read. “In particular, former countries of the communist bloc such as Russia, China and North Korea have no hesitation in using peace as a tool for their political strategy.”
The editorial continued as follows.
“The Moon Jae-in administration has put forward ‘inter-Korean peace’ for five years. They argued that Kim Jong-un’s willingness to denuclearize has been confirmed, and held three inter-Korean summits and two U.S.-North Korea summits. Everyone shouted ‘peace,’ but the meaning of peace to Kim Jong-un was not to abolish nuclear weapons, but to break down the sanctions against Pyongyang while holding on to nuclear weapons. They interpreted the same word, peace, completely different. After the presidential election, North Korea’s ‘peace offensive’ will also resume. Peace is not an ideal, it is a reality. It is something that is protected by power, not by words.”
The JoongAng Ilbo newspaper’s editorial also warned of North Korea choosing a dangerous path after observing the Ukrainian crisis.
“It could also set a bad precedent for the denuclearization of North Korea,” the editorial read. “Ukraine, which received more than 5,000 Soviet nuclear weapons, was promised security guarantees in return for denuclearization under the Budapest treaty. But now that there are no nuclear weapons, it has been invaded by Russia. Watching this raises concerns that North Korea will become more obsessed with possessing nuclear weapons.”
The editorial argued that there is a chance that North Korea might provoke South Korea as the United States focuses all of its attention on Ukraine. It said that Ukraine’s geopolitical risks are similar to those of South Korea, which is also at the crossroads of great powers. “We need to learn from the Ukrainian crisis and ensure that there is no gap in security while focusing on the alliance with the United States.”
The United States has rallied Singapore, Japan, and Taiwan to join its sanctions push in response to Russian aggression in Ukraine. This is especially notable for Singapore and Taiwan, which are Asian countries that have not previously gone after Russia in the U.S. sanctions efforts that followed Russia’s 2014 intervention in Ukraine and annexation of Crimea.
South Korea is conspicuously absent from the list of nations sanctioning Russia. The U.S. is reportedly urging South Korea to join these efforts but the Moon administration is hesitant to do more than offer Ukraine humanitarian and development aid. Many observers suspect this is because President Moon believes Russia’s support is needed to advance his failing peace efforts with North Korea.
