Bush’s Reelection Raises Possibility of US Attacking North Korea

Bruce Cumings who teaches history at the University of Chicago said Monday in an interview with KBS 1 radio station, “Should George Bush be reelected in the upcoming presidential election, the possibility of the US attacking North Korea will strengthen.”

“As a member of the international community myself, I am very concerned about the possibility of Bush’s winning the presidential race again next year,” he expressed his personal concerns over the result of US presidential elections to be held next year.

However, he expected that it might be difficult for president Bush to launch military attacks against North Korea right now because of the political burden of the upcoming presidential election that the US president now feels. Furthermore, major US military forces are stationed at Middle East areas including Iraq, witnessing numerous deaths of dispatched US soldiers, which will not allow any room for the US to launch a preemptive attack against the North.” He also emphasized, “A new hope of reducing the possibility that another war will occur on the Korean Peninsular has emerged because Koreans’ attitude toward the US has significantly changed over past years. In this context, I firmly believe that If the US tries to escalate tensions on the Korean Peninsular according to its war scenario by stepping up its military forces and dispatching aircraft carriers to the region, thousands of Koreans will take to the street to stage a protest against the US.”

Young-Sik Kim spear@donga.com