Ruling and Opposition Parties’ Response to North Korean Demand for U.S. Military Withdrawal from Korea

The Ruling and Opposition parties put forth conflicting interpretations of the discussions that National Defense Chairman Kim Jong Il and Russian President Vladmir Putin held at the summit regarding the withdrawal of American troops from the peninsula. The Unification Party insisted that ``It showed that North Korea did not change a bit,`` while the Democratic Party argued that ``It amounted up to nothing more than North Korea trying to claim a strategically higher ground in talks with the U.S.``

Ñ Unification Party`s President Lee Hwae Chang stated at the Presidential Meeting ``Russian support for the withdrawal of American troops at a time when Korean relations with traditional allies such as the U.S. and Japan is strained indicates a worsening of our position in foreign relations.`` He further stated ``As the situation around the peninsula becomes more complicated, we have not been able to deal with the situation properly.``

Assembly member Chung Hyung Kun stated, ``President Kim Dae Jung has received North Korea’s acknowledgment of the need for American troops stationed in Korea as proof of real changes in the North, but this makes clear that the reality is different.`` He further stated, ``This is a serious problem because it means they have played us for fools.``

Policy Affairs Chairman Kim Man Jae and First Policy Affairs Chairman Choi Yun Hee stated ``North Korea and Russia took the summit as an opportunity to re-establish their mutual alliance, creating the possibility that we will return to a cold war situation.`` They criticized the government, saying ``The government, however, continues to pursue a policy of appeasement toward the North.``

Ñ Democratic Party ~ Participants at the expanded party official meeting stated, ``North Korean-Russian talks on withdrawal of American troops is only exaggerated rhetoric aimed at securing the initiative in North Korea-U.S. talks.``

They suggested that Chairman Kim probably asked President Putin for cooperation in working toward withdrawing U.S. troops as a formality, while President Putin agreed to it only as a gesture of solidarity.

One party official said, ``During the President’s visit and Madeline Albright’s visit to the North, North Korea acknowledged the need for U.S. troops in Korea.`` ``We have to understand that their current insistence on U.S. withdrawal is only a temporary position necessary to secure their survival,`` said the official.

Veteran member Chun Yong Hak said ``The Unification Party’s statement `The President deceived the people` is a tactical attitude geared toward defaming the significance of the South-North summit. Let’s not engage in partisan politics over issues of South-North relations and foreign relations, but concentrate on unifying national opinion and cooperate in strengthening the nation.``

However, People’s Party veteran member Byun Oong Jun sided with the Unification Party, saying ``The North Korea-Russian summit is a problem that should worry us, but the government is taking it too easy.``

Song In-Soo issong@donga.com