In Korea, nothing is what it seems.
What they call the demilitarized zone is actually the most heavily militarized area in the world.
Technically the two Koreas are still at war, even though they’ve had over 60 years of peace.
The leaders of North and South Korea met yesterday and agreed to “denuclearize” the peninsula, even though South Korea has no nuclear weapons, and North Korea’s testing facilities have collapsed.
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
So when we read the declaration issued by the two leaders about their historic meeting, it’s best to remain skeptical and ask if there is anything there besides empty rhetoric. And the answer may be “no.”
Donald Trump probably joins millions of other Americans — especially his supporters who propose he should now win the Nobel Peace Prize — who do not know that there have been historic meetings between North and South Korea two other times in recent years. So what’s going on now is no big deal.
Kim Jong Un’s father met with the South Korean leader in 2000 and 2007, and the results then were very similar to the results now: empty rhetoric with nothing concrete happening and no specifics about what they planned to change.
According to the Washington Post, this is a summary of the 2000 summit meeting between South Korean President Kim Dae-jung and North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in Pyongyang:
“The meeting between the leaders of North and South Korea was acclaimed as “historic.” The two leaders hugged, “smiled broadly, shook each other’s hand vigorously and toasted each other with glasses of champagne.” Reporters noted that the “opening formalities seemed surprisingly relaxed, exceeding the expectations of many people, including perhaps those of the principals themselves. The South Korean leader said we must “proceed together on a path of reconciliation and cooperation.” The North Korean leader replied that “you will not be disappointed.”
Sound familiar? There was great euphoria over the 2000 meeting, the South Korean president did in fact win the Nobel Peace Prize. But in retrospect it is considered a great failure.
According to the Post,
“Despite North Korea’s promises, it did nothing to ease the repression of its populace or to end its nuclear and missile programs. It turned out Kim Dae-jung only achieved that “historic” 2000 summit by offering Kim Jong Il a $500 million bribe.”
So nothing has really happened yet except a cruel dictator has been given international recognition and acceptance, which is all he really wants.
Of course, the President of the United States is already crowing about his great achievements before anything of substance has even happened.
KOREAN WAR TO END! The United States, and all of its GREAT people, should be very proud of what is now taking place in Korea!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 27, 2018
All that’s been proven so far is that a big PR stunt has been staged with the intent of making Trump and the two Korean leaders look good, which helps them in their standing at home.
Concerning the end to the Korean War, the Post adds this:
“The two Koreas do not have the power to conclude a peace treaty because South Korea was not a party to the 1953 armistice. It was an agreement between the United States (acting on behalf of the United Nations Command), China and North Korea. If there is to be a peace treaty, it will involve those powers, not just South Korea.”
And it’s not likely that this will actually happen, no matter what Trump tweets.
The danger is that Trump and his gullible followers are being sold a bill of goods with no substance, and by letting down our guard, North Korea will be free to continue on the same path it has been on for decades.
As the Post says,
“There is no reason to think Kim is another Gorbachev — a genuine liberal reformer who just happened to rise to the top of a totalitarian system. Human rights violations in North Korea are as awful as ever — a fact highlighted by the death of the American student Otto Warmbier shortly after being released from North Korean custody. The North Korean nuclear and missile programs are more advanced than ever. Kim is not suddenly being reborn as a liberal peacenik; he is pursuing his family’s old policy of mixing provocations such as missile tests with peace offensives designed to convince the West to relax sanctions and extend his odious regime a life line. We would be well advised not to fall for this gambit — again.”
We have reported before that our conman president is in fact being conned himself. And this could be bad for a number of reasons, not the least of which it makes us look weak while our allies like Japan and South Korea may actually be less secure.
Trump is desperate for a foreign policy “win” to offset the threat to his presidency from Robert Mueller and the FBI. Instead of getting caught up in the hype we would be smart to recognize it for what it is: another giant distraction with no real substance.
I am a lifelong Democrat with a passion for social justice and progressive issues. I have degrees in writing, economics and law from the University of Iowa.
