Vershbow Back in the Fight
Thuggish tactics may have prevented him from talking to far-left Voice of the People last week, but our man in Korea is determined to leave no stronghold of the radical, pro-North Korean left untouched. Now, he’s now on the Internet:
“I think all South Koreans should be worried about a regime that treats its own people so badly,” Vershbow said in a message posted at Café USA, the embassy PR website set up by his predecessor Christopher Hill. He claimed North Korea “wastes its scarce resources on nuclear weapons, and “¦ engages in counterfeiting, drug trafficking, money laundering and the export of dangerous military technologies in order to survive.
The envoy said he was writing in response to a post from a South Korean visitor on Friday that read, “The arrogance of Americans has crossed the line” and accused Vershbow of “acting in contradiction to his predecessor, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill,” who has favored more conciliatory public statements in his role as chief negotiator in six-nation talks on the Stalinist country’s nuclear program. The post also charged Vershbow with “irrational diplomacy” for calling Pyongyang a “criminal regime” late last year.
But Vershbow said overlooking the damage the North Korean regime did to its own people, namely more than 1 million people who died of famine, chronic malnutrition and economic stagnation, would never advance unification of the two Koreas.
Vershbow will never persuade some of these guys, but cooler heads are watching, too. The most disastrous thing he could do now would be to apologize, retract, or “explain,” particularly because he’s right. Read it yourself here, if your Korean skills are up to that. If not, here’s a little more, from a speech Amb. Vershbow gave on January 12th at the Lotte Hotel:
The division of the Korean Peninsula is one of the great tragedies of our time. And one of the most heart-rending aspects of that tragedy is that the North Korean people have been unable to join the South Korean people in their successful march to prosperity and democracy. I joked earlier that this winter has reminded me of Moscow, but it is not a laughing matter that just to the North of here 23 million Korean people have suffered through this winter with little or no heat, without adequate food, without adequate clothing, and without adequate health care. Just as the United States and ROK are working together to eliminate the North Korean nuclear program, we can work together to improve the lives of the North Korean people.
Together, I hope that we can persuade the DPRK to get out of the nuclear business, end its illicit activities, and get into the international community of nations. We will be there to welcome them. This is the only way for the DPRK to improve the lives of its people.
This part, however, will probably blow a few circuits:
More and more, the alliance encompasses not merely the defense of the Korean Peninsula, but the promotion of democracy, freedom, and international cooperation around the world. Next week I will accompany Foreign Minister Ban to Washington for the inauguration of our senior-level strategic dialogue, the Strategic Consultation for Allied Partnership. Reflecting Korea’s increased stature in the world, these talks will cover a wide range of issues, rather than merely those related to the Korean Peninsula.
The Chinese will probably demand fresh tribute from Roh after that.