South Korea Election Makes It Clear: War With the North Is off the Table…(Let’s Hope!!)
As concerns the North, South Korea now sees eye-to-eye with China, rather than the US
M.K. Bhadrakumar
Russia-Insider.com
5/10/2017
On Tuesday, even as Moon Jae-in got elected as South Korea’s next president, in faraway Oslo, North Korean and American representatives sat down to hold “informal discussions” for a second day. The Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman effectively welcomed the development:
First, it has been China’s position to peacefully resolve the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and consultation… China also calls on and encourages various parties to resume dialogue and contact at an early date…
China has noted the statement by the US side and its positive signal of peacefully resolving the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and consultation. We believe that relevant parties have also noticed the signal in a timely manner…
China will stay in touch with relevant parties and work to bring the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula back to the right track of peaceful settlement through dialogue and consultation.
China’s mediatory role is obvious. Indeed, Moon’s election dovetails with the meet in Oslo. Moon will breathe new life into the ‘Sunshine Policy’ toward North Korea, advocated by South Korea’s two previous left-leaning presidents Kin Dae Jung and Roh Moo Hyun. The progressive forces in South Korea have stood for improved inter-Korea ties.
The American commentators say Moon’s liberal government is bad news for US President Donald Trump as it could spell trouble for the US-South Korea alliance. True, Moon will refuse to pay up $1 billion, which is the bill Trump has presented for the deployment of the US’ ABM system in South Korea – known as THAAD missile. Actually, Moon is against the deployment itself.
The Pentagon hurriedly deployed the THAAD in March knowing that Moon’s election in May was all but certain and anticipating that the planned deployment by the end of 2017 may not come through once he took charge. The bottom line is the North Korea missile threat provides an alibi for the US to deploy the ABM system in the Far East, which has the capability to neutralise China’s nuclear capability.
The Rest…HERE
