"What most people don't seem to realize is that there is just as much money to be made out of the wreckage of a civilization as from the upbuilding of one." 

- Margaret Mitchell

"If asked for a brief explanation, I would say that the existential vacuum derives from the following conditions. Unlike an animal, man is not told by drives and instincts what he must do. And in contrast to man in former times, he is no longer told by traditions and values what he should do. Now, knowing neither what he must do nor what he should do, he sometimes does not even know what he basically wishes to do. Instead, he wishes to do what other people do - which is conformism - or he does what other people wish him to do - which is totalitarianism." 

- Dr. Viktor E. Frankl

"We grow tyrannical fighting tyranny. The most alarming spectacle today is not the spectacle of the atomic bomb in an unfederated world, it is the spectacle of the Americans beginning to accept the device of loyalty oaths and witchhunts, beginning to call anybody they don't like a Communist." 

- E. B. White

We should keep in mind that the Kim family regime's political warfare strategy relies heavily on its blackmail diplomacy - the use of increased tension, threats and provocations to gain political and economic concessions. Part of our information and influence strategy should be to counter the criticism that a north Korean provocation is a US and South Korean policy failure. We should make the press, pundits, and public understand that this is fundamental part of north Korean strategy and its conducts provocations for specific objectives. It does not represent a policy failure on our part. I would offer the following framework for consideration:

First, do not overreact. But do not succumb to the criticism of those who recommend ending exercises. 

Second, never ever back down in the face of north Korean increased tension, threats, and provocations.

Third, coordinate an alliance response. There may be times when a good cop-bad cop approach is appropriate.  Try to mitigate the internal domestic political criticisms that will inevitably occur in Seoul and DC. Do not let those criticisms negatively influence policy and actions.

Fourth, exploit weakness in north Korea - cause internal pressure on Kim and the regime from his elite and military. Always work to drive a wedge among the party, elite, and military (which is a challenge since they are all intertwined and inextricably linked).

Fifth, demonstrate strength and resolve. Do not be afraid to show military strength. Never misunderstand the north's propaganda - do not give into demands to reduce exercises or take other measures based on north Korean demands that would in any way reduce the readiness of the combined military forces. The north does not want an end to the exercises because they are a threat, they want to weaken the alliance and force the US troops off of the peninsula which will be the result if they are unable to effectively train.

Sixth, depending on the nature of the provocation, be prepared to initiate a decisive response using the most appropriate tools, e.g., diplomatic, military, economic, information and influence activities, cyber, etc. or a combination.

"If you look at the history of the South Korea-U.S. combined exercises, any government in the past has prioritized the alliance, and this principle remains the same today," a senior Blue House high-ranking official told the JoongAng Ilbo Friday. "North Korea doesn't rank very high when taking into consideration the variables considered for holding such joint drills." 

A video that showed a panoramic view of the Korean Peninsula, which zoomed out to show the entire globe, started from Rungnado in Pyongyang, the capital of North Korea, instead of Seoul, when introducing the host city of the forum.

 

In an internal investigation, the Foreign Ministry found out that the company that it signed a contract with to produce the video had asked another company to produce that particular segment of the video, which had then asked another company to do it. The organizers of the summit failed to catch the slip-up during rehearsal. 

 

The video clip was immediately edited after the mistake was spotted by the media, and Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong expressed regret over the incident. 

 

The Foreign Ministry said those responsible for the video would be face repercussions, and said that it was considering reporting to the police the companies that produced the controversial opening ceremony video. 

 

The office of PPP Rep. Cho Tae-yong, a member of the parliamentary foreign affairs committee and a former vice foreign minister, told the JoongAng Ilbo Sunday that a written warning was issued to the head of the summit’s preparatory office. 

 

The ministry said this high-level official retired as of July 1, thus disciplinary action would have no effect.  

Nevertheless, the Moon Jae-in administration keeps mum. Instead, in an interview with KBS last week, Hong Hyun-ik, a senior researcher at the Sejong Institute — who has just been nominated to head the Korea National Diplomatic Academy — stressed that there’s no need for a South-U.S. joint drill because the North Korean economy has shrunken to one 53rd of the South’s and North Korea’s annual military expenditure is less than one tenth of South Korea’s.

Some Korean young men's overreaction to the pinch symbol leads me to the most incomprehensible part of the anti-An San saga in Korea during the Summer Games: the utter fragility of the young, Korean male ego. Actually, it's more than fragility. It borders on a collective, persecution complex, which is defined as, the "irrational and obsessive feeling or fear that one is the object of collective hostility or ill-treatment on the part of others," according to Wikipedia.

•  Back to List
• More article by this Writer

•  Back to List
• More article by this Writer