Wednesday, October 23, 2002
A Chosun Ilbo (English Edition) story has this headline: "Candidates Say No to NK Nuke Plan". The actual text of the story indicates, however, that there are considerable differences of opinion concerning what should be done about the re-discovered North Korean nuclear threat:
How much of this is due to actual differences of opinion and how much is due to campaign posturing remains to be seen.
An aside: note this photo of the presidential candidates. Why is it that South Korean politicians seem to feel that having grey hair is a liability? Contrast this official photo of previous ROK President Kim Young Sam with the greying opposition crusader of the 1980's. What gives?
Some presidential candidates criticized the government saying it should not act as if nothing has happened when a severe crisis has occurred. They added that financial aid to the North that can be used to build nuclear weapons should be frozen and that the top priority of talks with Pyongyang should be nuclear weapons issues.
While Roh [Moo-hyun] toed the president's line by emphasizing the need for dialogue, Lee [Hoi-chang]stressed that Pyongyang's nuclear issue is not a subject of compromise, and Chung [Mong-joon] suggested the government reconsider the light-water reactor project and the supply of heavy oil.
Kwon [Young-ghil] said the government needed to tell the US that it is also responsible for not keeping its promise to complete the light-water reactors by 2003 and to loosen economic sanctions against North Korea.
How much of this is due to actual differences of opinion and how much is due to campaign posturing remains to be seen.
An aside: note this photo of the presidential candidates. Why is it that South Korean politicians seem to feel that having grey hair is a liability? Contrast this official photo of previous ROK President Kim Young Sam with the greying opposition crusader of the 1980's. What gives?
