President should persuade people on security issues
A leader should reassure the people with accuracy and prudence. President Yoon Suk Yeol made South Koreans uncertain of whether he is such a leader on two occasions last week.
In an interview with the conservative Korean-language daily Chosun Ilbo published on Monday, President Yoon said South Korea was discussing the "joint planning and exercises" of nuclear capabilities with the U.S., and Washington was "quite positive" about it. Hours later, U.S. President Joe Biden flatly denied it.
It turned out soon after that Yoon had confused or replaced the term "execution," with the far more specific and concrete term "exercises."
Two days later, the South Korean leader told his defense minister to consider suspending a 2018 inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement if North Korea invades the South's territory again. Yoon's aides stressed the words "consider" and "invades again," implying that the president was not being so hasty. However, many regarded the presidential remark as a declaration.
Yoon did not reassure South Koreans in those few days but instead made them more restless.
The president's desire to secure greater nuclear deterrence is understandable.
However, he should have been more cautious in choosing his words. Under its "sole authority" principle, the U.S. seldom shares the core parts of its nuclear operations, even with its European allies. Some call for applying the Nuclear Planning Group (NPG) formula with NATO to Asia. However, even the NPG is more formal than practical. A joint exercise with a non-nuclear power is unthinkable.
Depending on whether Yoon knew about the difference between "execution" and "exercise," he might have looked either presumptuous or amateurish. Neither is desirable for an ally's leader from Washington's standpoint. Had he done his homework, Yoon would have known that what he said in the interview was rewriting of the bilateral agreement made in the Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) last November. How could the two allies move an inch from it in just a couple of months?
Yoon once again shot from the hip when he ordered the suspension of the joint declaration of Sept. 19, 2018, on easing tensions on the inter-Korean border. As there is no provision for suspending the agreement's effects, the president's order was interpreted as showing his intention to nullify it. It is suitable to protest the North's accord violations and call for its observance. However, denouncing its violations and announcing the cancellation of the agreement are pretty different. The remark is tantamount to eliminating one of the few remaining safety devices by Seoul. Nor was it proper for the chief executive to appear ready to kill a ministerial accord.
The commander-in-chief also revealed his lack of preparation recently when he told his defense officials to launch a drone unit, not knowing there already was one. These and numerous other gaffes make most South Koreans feel uneasy rather than relieved about their president's comments. Yoon's aides must show the latest survey results to their boss.
Naturally, the government's policies change when political power changes hands. However, a country's diplomatic policies cannot be turned upside down every five years like in Korea. On the contrary, they should accumulate and evolve.
During which moment do most South Koreans feel safer ― five years ago or now?
True, one cannot turn the other cheek, especially when dealing with an aggressive and violent counterpart like North Korea. However, putting oneself in the other's shoes is sometimes necessary. Pyongyang has made its nuclear completion irreversible since the rupture of the February 2019 summit with the U.S. in Hanoi, Vietnam, due to Donald Trump changing his mind or surrendering to American neo-cons. Kim Jong-un might also have regretted what he viewed as Moon Jae-in's faulty mediation ― or overestimated his South Korean counterpart's ability.
The U.S. has the key ― as it has always had ― in this three-way game. However, that does not justify the two Koreas switching their directions every time the superpower changes its policy. Many South Koreans know that expecting a regressive, amateurish government to change the decades-long reality is impossible, and cannot help but face the coming year amid mounting concerns.
