The Death of an Alliance, Part 25
President Roh Moo-hyun on Thursday said the U.S. must overcome old divisions in its mind between “them” and “us” in Northeast Asia, with one side to be supported and the other kept in check. Speaking at a dinner at the Korean Society in New York, Roh said doing so would “help regional peace and security in Asia and the national interests of the United States.”
“It could prove uncomfortable for the U.S. government if it listens to those who would create a confrontational order in the region, but if it wants an order of peaceful cooperation, that would be in everyone’s interest.”
Presidential foreign policy advisor Chung Woo-sung provided the customary gloss on Roh’s remarks, which he said were an expression of concern about calls for the U.S. to join hands with Japan in confronting China.
Roh said the North Korean nuclear dispute “is essentially one of nuclear non-proliferation, but at its base is a hostile relationship of mistrust established during the Cold War… For a fundamental solution, North Korea and the United States need to normalize relations.”
He said if the armistice regime now prevailing on the Korean Peninsula is replaced by a peace regime through North Korea’s surrender of its nuclear ambitions and normal ties between Washington and Pyongyang, “it would become an epoch-making moment for peace on the Korean Peninsula and moving forward to a new order in Northeast Asia.”
I consider that a self-analyzing statement. The papers left out the last part, which I took the liberty of translating on Babelfish:
I don’t know how long the Roh era can continue as long as as imperial powers divide us from joining hands and establishing a joint capital at Kumgang. Actually, what I mean there is that some people with great ethnic purity have told me that I must do this, and who am I to judge which alternative view is better? You know, I often contemplate slitting my wrists, but only to let the pain escape my soul. That is all.