hankyoreh

Yang Moo-jin

By Yang Moo-jin, professor at the University of North Korean Studies

After a tenure of 30 months, Gen. Robert B. Abrams, concurrent commander of the United Nations Command (UNC), United States Forces Korea (USFK) and R.O.K.-U.S. Combined Forces Command, will finish his duties next month and return to his home state of North Carolina. I thank him for his service and wish him well in his future endeavors.

In a speech at a farewell event held in his honor on May 13 by the ROK-US Alliance Foundation and Korea Defense Veterans Association, Abrams mentioned “freedom of speech.” Korean media outlets have linked this phrase to the issue of sending propaganda leaflets to North Korea, thereby interpreting it as indirect criticism of the South Korean government.

Perhaps conscious of the consequences of speaking on the issue of propaganda leaflets, Abrams left himself room for plausible deniability by keeping his remarks vague. He chose the cautious method of mentioning freedom of speech first while listing the key values of democracy. However, looking back on Abrams’ views and actions on Korean Peninsula issues throughout his tenure, it is not difficult to ascertain the intended meaning of this wording.

His statement not only flies in the face of the USFK’s policy of not commenting on domestic Korean issues but is also an untimely comment on the sensitive issue of propaganda leaflets in the lead-up to a South Korea-US summit meeting. Another concern is the contradictory nature of the statement in light of his concurrent role as UNC commander.

Abrams was appointed on Nov. 8, 2018, at a time when North and South Korea had reduced military tensions and were taking demilitarization measures under the Panmunjom agreement. He viewed UNC jurisdiction in the DMZ as top priority. Although there had also been some disputes during the term of his predecessor, Gen. Vincent K. Brooks, they ended in amicable cooperation based on an understanding of Korean Peninsula issues. In contrast to this approach, Abrams refused to allow a press team to accompany the Minister of Unification’s visit to Daeseong neighborhood, and also disallowed participants in the Korea-Germany Unification Advisory Committee, including the vice minister of unification, from visiting a guard post in the DMZ. In addition to this, Abrams turned down several requests to enter the DMZ from organizations and groups promoting North-South cooperation and exchanges, citing security reasons.

The National Assembly and Korean media have already taken issue with the UNC’s excessive and arbitrary exercise of power several times in the past. However, these complaints ultimately failed to gain much traction as the “security issue” raised by Abrams and the UNC is plausible from a military perspective, and a jurisdiction dispute with the UNC could have negatively impacted the South Korea-US alliance. In addition to being politically insensitive, the latest veiled reference to propaganda leaflets is also particularly serious in that it ignores the purpose of the amendment to the Development of Inter-Korean Relations Act.

The South Korean government has always described this statute as the minimum level of restrictions required to protect the lives and security of people living near the border. It is clear that the UNC’s mission is to reduce tensions and bring about peace on the Korean Peninsula, including the DMZ.

However, the attitude underlying the “freedom of speech” remark that ignores the “security issue” Abrams has used as a trump card to maintain UNC jurisdiction is contradictory and difficult to understand.

The people of South Korea remain grateful for the blood shed by the US and UN to fight for freedom and democracy in a small, impoverished East Asian nation in 1950. On several occasions, the South Korean government has expressed a clear intention to maintain the framework of the Armistice Agreement and respect the UNC’s military authority and role in the DMZ. Accordingly, it is now time for the UNC to understand and cooperate with the South Korean government’s efforts to bring about change in inter-Korean relations and achieve peace on the Korean Peninsula.

As Abrams mentioned in his farewell address, the alliance must continue to develop into a forward-looking alliance that befits its slogan, “We Go Together.” Incoming commander Paul LaCamera, the current commander of the United States Command Pacific, has previously served in South Korea.

I hope he is able to work closely alongside the South Korean government based on an understanding of Korean Peninsula issues and the Korean people.

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