hankyoreh

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s visit to South Korea last week is still a hot topic among the population. There have been many personal compliments for Clinton, talking about her “high-class diplomacy abounding with consummate skill” and her “impressive diplomacy that captured the hearts of the South Korean people.” Her visit to South Korea is also being judged to have allayed diplomatic concerns of the Lee Myung-bak administration, including: erasing apprehensions about the South Korea-U.S. alliance, strengthening cooperation between the two countries toward North Korea, and reconfirming the principle of having the North get in touch with the United States only by going through the South.

But there are some unsatisfactory aspects to her visit. She indicated that it would be a “listening trip,” but it was difficult to see her “listening” quietly during her schedule of two days and one night in South Korea. We did not see her meeting with people holding different perspectives from the current administration, and through her fiery public speeches, she showed the behavior of a politician focusing more on “speaking” than “listening.” She has also been straightforward on Korean Peninsula policy, which is said to still be under examination. Since she had ready answers for almost all items, perhaps she had no need to “listen.”

It was also difficult to find a distinction from the Bush administration. There seems to be almost nothing different, aside for a different understanding of North Korea’s enriched uranium program. If one considers her statements about “complete and verifiable elimination of North Korea’s nuclear weapons,” strengthening the South Korea-U.S. alliance as a “global strategic alliance that rests upon shared commitments and common values -- democracy, human rights, market economies, and the pursuit of peace,” North Korea’s “tyranny and poverty,” and “the improvement of inter-Korean relations as a precondition for improving North Korea-U.S. relations,” it gave the impression of another visit to South Korea by former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

The Obama administration declared that it was going to move away from the high-pressure, unilateral diplomacy of its predecessor and demonstrate a prudent foreign affairs strategy of “soft power” based in the “power of balance.” But the reality appears different. Clinton’s comments on the succession of power in North Korea were not at all prudent. Formal references to North Korea’s politics of succession have thus far been taboo. Not only is it inappropriate to make such references without accurate information, it also gives the impression that a rapid change or collapse in the North is a given. Kim Jong-il is in good health and operating in good order around the National Defense Commission of North Korea; the U.S. Secretary of State making a formal reference to the possibility of “heightened tensions in the process of a change in North Korea’s ruling structure” could have a negative effect on North Korea-U.S. relations.

Nor did she show the wisdom of balance. Secretary of State Clinton announced that North Korea “is not going to get a different relationship with the United States while insulting and refusing dialogue with South Korea.” It is exceedingly natural for the United States to take the side of its ally South Korea. But there needed to be some reflection on why this has occurred and some serious consideration on an alternative. It seems the most appropriate move of balanced diplomacy would be to urge South Korea to improve its relations with North Korea as well.

The ministry shown to the best advantage through Clinton’s visit was the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This is because aside from the South Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, they obtained from Secretary of State Clinton everything President Lee Myung-bak and his conservative supporters want. They delivered a blow to critics who were concerned about uncoordinated diplomacy. But the major issue is concern over whether this kind of diplomacy will really help our national interests. There is no guarantee that the North will pursue dialogue with South Korea just because the United States applies pressure. Instead, the North’s hostility toward the Lee administration will only continue increasing and the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula will be in greater danger. It is truly unfortunate that they have not yet learned anything from the Kim Young-sam administration’s failed North Korea policy.