“Revamp the NSC to Restore the South-U.S. Alliance”

On November 4, the Grand National Party (GNP), with the re-election of the incumbent George W. Bush, called for an overhaul of the diplomatic lineup in the government.

Floor leader Kim Deok-Ryong argued on that day in the standing and steering committee meeting, saying, “At this moment, restoring the Korea-U.S. alliance is an urgent issue to resolve the North’s nuclear standoff. A sweeping shake-up in our diplomatic lineup is critical in the face of the U.S. presidential election.”

Park Jin, the head of the GNP’s foreign affairs committee, said, “Future diplomacy towards the U.S. must be focused on normalizing the South-U.S. ties that have been uncomfortable and unstable, which means a reform plan in the arena of foreign affairs and security is necessary.”

“The administration was indecisive in dispatching the South Korean troops to Iraq and has been constantly at odds with the Bush administration over the issue of reducing the U.S. forces stationed in the South. Even though unilateral South-U.S. ties must be corrected, a major overhaul of the administration’s diplomatic lineup is inevitable,” an official of the GNP said.

GNP’s floor leader Kim pinpointed the National Security Council (NSC) as the specific target for reform on the grounds that the NSC, which is leading the government’s diplomatic and security policies, has so far been the epicenter of policy confusion.

The offensive is increasingly targeted at the NSC’s Vice Chief Lee Jong-seok. The GNP has been continuously demanding Mr. Lee’s replacement, saying that he is the core member of the so-called “independent forces” within the government, who value Korea’s U.S. foreign policy on an equal standing with the U.S. over the South-U.S. alliance.

Cheong Wa Dae did not react to any of these attacks by the opposition party. However, speculations prevail among some of the ruling party members that the government’s diplomatic lineup will be coordinated once the diplomatic corps in Bush’s second term is formed.

Yeon-Wook Jung jyw11@donga.com