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Defense Minister Seo Wook (left) and US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper at the Annual Security Council (SCM) between South Korea and the United States held last week in Washington.‘Fiasco’
It’s been a long time since I heard it, so I had to look in the English-Korean dictionary again. These were the words of a diplomatic expert who was well versed in relations between the United States and the ROK as he watched the results of the Korea-United States Security Council (SCM) last week. Diplomatically translated as great failure or tragedy, this word is used to evaluate the most important alliance council between the two countries.
High-ranking Korean military personnel who visited Washington despite the Corona 19 risk and burden of self-isolation for two weeks may have felt betrayed beyond embarrassment. The differences of views of the ROK and the United States revealed in various places in the SCM joint statement were also a problem, but the discussion about the wartime transition of power during the Moon Jae-in administration’s tenure , which was the core, has been withdrawn. The US side expressed its stubborn opposition by writing even the expression: “Transitioning OPCON with a specific time limit may put the military force and the people at risk.”
Is that all that? Defense Secretary Mark Esper has once again pushed for South Korea’s increased defense spending, saying it was not on the agenda in all comments. We even throw in a nuance that we may not be able to guarantee a stable presence of American forces in Korea if we do not pay the amount requested by the United States. Furthermore, the impoliteness of abruptly canceling the joint press conference of the Korean and US defense ministers only three and a half hours before the scheduled schedule. Considering the fact that it was the first meeting and SCM of the defense ministers of the Republic of Korea and the United States, which took place immediately after the inauguration of the defense minister, Seo Wook, is at the level of a disaster.
Among those who have seen the SCM preparation process, there is a reaction that “it looks like the meeting was scheduled to fail.” In the process of coordinating the joint statement, the differences between the two parties were too great. Until the day before the SCM talks, Defense Minister Mark Esper and Defense Minister Seo Wook held a dinner, this difference in positions was not closed. Inside and outside the Pentagon, there were also sayings: “While Secretary Seo was pushing South Korea’s demands, Secretary Esper was upset and for this reason canceled the joint press conference.”
Regarding these results, it is difficult to find the reason why our military authorities have spoken with the United States government. There are no criticisms or protests. “The joint press conference was actually due to the internal situation in the United States,” or “we had an honest conversation with each other” and we tried to resolve the disagreement. An expert familiar with military issues said: “This SCM result is an explosion of accumulated American complaints about Korea” and said: “In the current situation, Korea cannot be in a position to shout aloud to the United States. No matter how many bloody alliances have been made over 70 years, there should be exchanges, but it is pointed out that Korea has not done much this time.
The situation at the THAAD missile base in Seongju, Gyeongsangbuk-do is representative. The normal operation of the base has not been normalized for more than 3 years due to road closures and protests from local residents who oppose the establishment of the base. Apart from carrying the daily necessities by helicopter because the vehicles could not enter, not even the sewage vehicles could enter properly. The USFK has protested several times, but in reality little has improved. From the USFK’s side, there is a strong perception that the Korean government is responding lukewarmly with opposition from residents. One official said: “Would you like to station your troops in a country that prevents sewage from being cleaned up?”
Dissatisfaction with the lack of adequate training by the USFK due to the closing of the shooting training center and noise complaints from residents has also increased recently. The commander of the Combined Forces of the ROK and the US, Robert Abrams, delivered a speech on this topic at a public event in July, discussing the situation when US forces in Korea must leave the Korean peninsula. for expedition training.
I think that in order for Korea to confidently ask for something as an alliance, it needs to make sure what we do accordingly. However, Korea’s subtle geopolitical position amid the US-China conflict does not mean that US-Korean relations continue to fail in the fields of diplomacy, economics, and technology. If bilateral relations falter even in the military arena, the last bastion of the alliance that must be firmly sustained, it is difficult to guarantee that the current alliance will be maintained for the next 70 years. The government must pursue diplomatic and security strategies while drawing the bigger picture externally without being swayed by national politics or public opinion. Isn’t it time to need genuine leadership that considers the national interests and the future of the country?
Washington Correspondent Lee Jeong-eun (Master of North Korean Studies) [email protected] Go to reporter’s page>
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