hankyoreh

April 29.

The forty-six sailors from the Cheonan were laid to rest Thursday during a full Navy funeral ceremony. Now a heavier burden lies on the shoulders of those who remain. Experts are unanimous in saying that if the loss of the Cheonan sailors is not to have been in vain, energies must immediately be focused not only on “keeping peace,” but also on “making peace,” something that has thus far been neglected.

In making peace, experts pointed to the urgent need for a systematic plan aimed at establishing peace in the West Sea region, as well the stable management of inter-Korean relations.

Even without the Cheonan disaster, the West Sea has been called a powder keg where a clash or incident could arise at any time. After the Korean War ended, no North Korea-South Korea maritime military demarcation line was set in the West Sea. As a result, both North Korea and South Korea have concentrated their naval military power near the Northern Limit Line (NLL). Within this tense situation, military clashes broke out in the West Sea on three occasions, in 1999, 2002 and 2009, and many young lives were lost on both sides.

Former Unification Minister Lim Dong-won stressed the need to “realize a zone of peace and cooperation in the West Sea and proceed fundamentally toward a ‘sea of peace’ by changing the armistice agreement into a peace agreement.”

People’s Solitary for Participatory Democracy (PSPD) General Secretary Kim Min-young offered his diagnosis of the situation, saying, “If the government had faithfully executed the existing agreement between North Korea and South Korea for the peaceful use of the waters near the Northern Limit Line in the West Sea, things would not have escalated into a confrontation scenario.”

Following the 2007 Inter-Korean Summit, late President Roh Moo-hyun and North Korean leader Kim Jong-il made an agreement to establish a ‘special West Sea zone of peace and cooperation,’ including the establishment of joint fishing zones and peaceful waters and the construction of a special economic zone. But the Lee Myung-bak administration has effectively refused to respect or implement the October 4 2007 Summit Declaration that includes this agreement. Former Unification Minister Jeong Se-hyun said, “They need to reconsider how to carry out policy for the stable management of the situation on the Korean Peninsula.”

The Lee administration’s crisis response capabilities for “keeping the peace” have also revealed numerous blind spots. Military authorities have stirred up confusion starting from the time of the basic confirmation process. For example, authorities repeatedly changed the stated time at which the accident that sank the Cheonan occurred. Inje University Professor Kim Yeon-chul said, “Since every ministry and office, including the Ministry of National Defense and intelligence organizations, have acquired different information, the Cheong Wa Dae has to be acting with an intention after taking everything into account.” However, Kim added, “It appears that there was almost none of this mediating function from the Cheong Wa Dae in the process of responding to the sinking of the Cheonan.” In other words, the majority of employees in the office of the senior secretary for foreign affairs and national security are essentially “liaisons” sent from the different offices and ministries and were unable to perform the function of a “control tower.”

Other observers, including main opposition Democratic Party (DP) Lawmaker Song Min-soon and University of North Korea Studies Professor Koo Kab-woo, underscored the need for democratic civilian controls on the military. These observers stated the need to reconsider if uniform determination of defense policy is in fact promoting national security.

Some experts expressed concern that the Lee government and the public are placing too much weight on “keeping the peace” by strengthening the alert against North Korea or building up military forces. Peace Network representative Cheong Wook-sik said, “If this incident simply leads South Korea to focus on simplifying its rules of engagement and beef up its aggression and forces, the situation of military confrontation between North Korea and South Korea could worsen as this combines with the North Korea’s response.”

Meanwhile, Navy Chief of Staff Kim Sung-chan said Thursday, “We will not sit idly by when forces bring great pain to our people, no matter who those forces are.” Kim also said, “We will not rest until we find those responsible and make them pay a greater price.”

During his memorial address at a joint funeral ceremony for the 46 sailors who died during the sinking of the Cheonan, held Thursday morning at the Second Fleet Command of Navy in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, Chief of Staff Kim said, “We cannot forgive what happened at Baengnyeong Island. We must not forgive, and we must not forget.”

In particular, Kim made statements that seemed to reference North Korean involvement. Kim said, “We will not allow anyone to harm the homeland we love, our beautiful country, or our precious sea.” He also said, “We will not forgive anyone who touches so much as a single tree, a single blade of grass, a single drop of water, anyone who looks down upon our sea.”

Tensions are heightening between North Korea and South Korea. Previously, North Korean Chief of the Korean People’s Army General Staff Ri Yong-ho said on Apr. 24, “If they invade so much as 0.001 millimeter of the Democratic Republic of North Korea‘s sacred sky, earth or sea, we will mobilize every means, including the nuclear deterrents, and blow away the invading citadel until not a trace remains.”

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