Ready to Fight against North Korean Attack, Says GOP

The U.S. Republican Party on August 30 reaffirmed its support of preemptive measures against terrorism and adopted a hard line foreign policy stance which requires other countries to choose to either support terrorism or the U.S. and its alliance against terrorism.

In the party platform adopted at the Republican National Convention held in New York that day, the GOP said that North Korea lies outside of the international system and that Americans have shed blood to stop North Korean attacks in the past and are still ready to counter an attack.

The platform stressed that the party would not allow the world’s most dangerous regimes to have the world’s most dangerous weapons, and that it considers a nation which supports terrorism identical with a nation that commits terrorism.

North Korea is currently on the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

It also said that there would be no compromise with terrorists and that any remedy or oppression would not stop their murderous acts. The GOP supports the legitimacy of preemptive strikes, saying that the U.S. should act preemptively if necessary to prevent the enemies’ belligerent action in advance.

However, the Republican Party also said in the platform that it still supported diplomatic efforts to solve the North Korean nuclear issue through six-party talks and stressed the ROK-U.S. alliance by calling South Korea a valuable democratic ally of the U.S.

Soon-Taek Kwon maypole@donga.com