hankyoreh

South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton met Tuesday to discuss follow-up measures to the Cheonan incident. The South Korean government says that confirming the solid support of the U.S. through a meeting was a great accomplishment. It remains questionable, however, whether such an attitude will be helpful in resolving the Cheonan situation and establishing measures to prevent anything similar from happening in the future, while at the same time avoiding increased tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

This meeting of foreign ministers came on the heels of a strategic dialogue between the U.S. and China. During that dialogue, however, the two countries failed to bridge their differences of opinion on the Cheonan situation. China did not respond favorably to the idea of referring the matter to the UN Security Council. Despite the government’s hopes, it does not appear likely that it will be able to lead sanctions with the participation of the entire international community. This is not a time for bragging about confirming the support of the U.S., but for reflecting on the limitations of its Cheonan diplomacy to date, which has shown an excessive focus and reliance on the U.S.

The government recently generated discord with China regarding the visit of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il. The telephone conversation between President Lee Myung-bak and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev a few days ago is also causing a stir, with some asking whether the Cheong Wa Dae (the presidential office in South Korea or Blue House) did not spin the situation in its briefing. While the Cheong Wa Dae reported Medvedev as saying he would “work to send North Korea the proper signal,” the wording in a briefing from the Russian President’s Office was quite different. If the government thinks it can achieve any goal in the international community by relying on the U.S. alone while planting seeds of distrust with China and Russia, it is sorely mistaken.

The present time calls for balanced diplomacy with a clear understanding of the intentions of the nations involved. The U.S. is using the Cheonan incident as a pretext for increasing its military influence on the Korean Peninsula and keeping China in check. It also views it as an opportunity to pressure Japan, which has shown differences of opinion on the Futenma Air Base issue. Moreover, there is a strong chance that the U.S. will return to its policy priority, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Indeed, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton expressed the need yesterday for a dual-track approach of handling the Cheonan issue and denuclearization at the same time. Her words have taken on a different tone from the “Cheonan first, six-party talks later” attitude coming from Seoul.

During the Roh Moo-hyun administration, South Korea exercised its right to have a voice, taking a leading role in presenting ideas regarding the six-party talks and other areas. The current Lee Myung-bak administration needs to know that if it continues with its diplomatic focus solely on the U.S., allowing its subjective hopes to take precedence, it may wind up a party to Korean Peninsula issues without any voice of its own, itself the focus of problem-solving efforts.

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]