U.S. Optimistic, but Cautious About Changes in Korea
By Jim Garamone
American Forces Press Service
SEOUL, Sept. 20, 2000 -- The historic meeting in June
between South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North
Korean leader Kim Chong-il carries much promise for the
people of both Koreas.
U.S. officials said the ongoing dialogue will inevitably
mean changes for the 37,000 U.S. service members stationed
in South Korea. But not yet.
The meeting in June and subsequent developments have put
into motion what one senior U.S. official called a
“fundamental transformation” on the Korean Peninsula. But
those changes are far from assured and far from
irreversible, the official said, and the ongoing process is
fragile.
Defense Secretary William S. Cohen is meeting with South
Korean officials against the backdrop of these changes.
Officials traveling with the secretary said many things
converged for the north and south to engage. The most
important, perhaps, is North Korea's economic desperation.
The North’s economy is “broken,” U.S. officials said. The
North sees its dialogue as necessary to survival, because
South Korea is the one country with both the resources and
the will to help.
President Kim Dae-jung has encouraged the dialogue by being
consistent. Since taking office two years ago, he has
maintained three bedrock principles for talks with the
North. First, South Korea will tolerate absolutely no
military provocation. This translates to a strong defense
and a continued strong alliance with the United States.
Second, he has separated politics from business. The new
economic connections between the two Koreas give the North
an interest in stability on the peninsula.
Finally, Kim states that rapid reunification with the North
was not a goal. This gives North Korea some breathing room.
Many in the world are surprised at the rapid pace of the
talks, and some critics say the South is rushing the
process. U.S. officials said Kim Chong-il is setting the
pace and no one knows for sure why he is moving so fast.
The officials surmise that once he decided to approach the
South he had no vested interest in moving slowly.
Since the meeting, families separated by the Korean War of
1950-1953 have been able to meet under supervised
circumstances. The two Koreas also agreed to re-establish a
railroad across their demilitarized zone. The most public
expression to date of the new atmosphere was the two Koreas
marching together during the opening ceremonies at the
Sydney Olympics.
Polls show that the vast majority of South Koreans approve
of the approach. After the meeting, there was a spike in
anti-American demonstrations. Many in the country felt that
with military tensions dropping that the Americans were no
longer needed.
President Kim Dae-jung and his ministers went to their
people and defended the U.S.-ROK security alliance, saying
it's still needed. In fact, Kim said the North Korean
leader told him that North Korea understood the need for
the United States to stay and agreed with it.
U.S. officials said it is too early to say what U.S. forces
and their composition would be if the North-South
rapprochement continues. They said more than 800,000 North
Korean soldiers are still based on the demilitarized zone,
and their artillery could still hit Seoul. The current
level of U.S. forces in Korea will remain the same, they
added.
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