Government Answers Missile Criticism

As criticism over the government’s belated response to North Korea’s missile launches grows, Cheong Wa Dae countered back, saying, “Is a strong response which raises the people’s anxiety and inter-Korean tension the right way to address issues?” However, Cheong Wa Dae’s logic is stirring another controversy as it is self-centered.

The senior presidential secretarial department on public affairs posted a writing on Cheong Wa Dae briefing on July 9 that although somebody is trying to label the North Korea’s missile launching incident an emergency situation for political reasons, which is just a political case, not an emergency situation on the security level.

However, there is a strong counterargument that their argument is dangerous, turning a blind eye to the North’s threat.

When they pointed out that the initial report to President Roh was not made until 5:12 a.m., one and a half hour after the first missile was launched, the government explained that only a launch of Taepodong 2 is to be reported to the President during nighttime, not Scud and Nodong missiles.

However, Scud and Nodong missiles are more threatening to the South’s security than to the U.S. and Japan. Scud and Nodong missiles’ ranges are 300-500km and 1,200-1,500km each. In response to this, Chairman of Joint Chiefs of Staff Lee Sang-hui said during the National Defense Committee meeting at the National Assembly on July 6 that the North’s launching of six Nodong and Scud missiles is “muscle-flexing.”

Under the circumstances, Cheong Wa Dae’s argument that the incident was just political is a self-contradiction.

No Problem for Our Responses-

Suh, Ju-seok, the president’s chief secretary for unification, foreign and security policy said through Cheong Wa Dae briefing on July 6, “There was no problem for our response.” He tried to refute the criticism on the belated response, but some pointed out that his argument ignored an objective situation on what happened right after the North’s missile launches.

The military authorities confirmed the first missile launch at 3:32 a.m. on July 5, but the fact was reported to Cheong Wa Dae as long as 30 minutes later. The government originally announced that their first report time was 5:00 a.m. but corrected it to 5:12 a.m. belatedly.

The government found out on July 3 that the North set up a no-sail zone on the East Sea, the missiles’ point of impact, for their ships before their missile launches, but it didn’t inform our airline companies and ships of the fact properly. Only after the media pointed out that our passenger airplanes that didn’t know the fact flew over the East Sea at dawn on July 5, the government belatedly took measures to reroute passenger airliners on July 7.

No Reason to Make Fuss from Early Morning like Japan?-

The senior presidential secretarial department on public affairs maintained on July 9, “We’ve got no reason to make a fuss like Japan from early morning. Such behavior would only make our people anxious.”

However, it is being pointed out that the government’ explanation that their calm way of responding was a strategic move to check Japan’s arms race has a gap in their reasoning because the North’s missile launch itself is an enough cause for Japan’s arms race. On the contrary, some say that the Korean government’s silence could be seen as an act of siding with the North and therefore, it could provoke Japan further.

Some Japanese journalists said, “The coincidence of the North’s missile launches and the South Korean government’s water survey on Dokdo area on July 5 seemed like a two Koreas’ pincer attack on Japan.”

While Suh put the blame on the media, saying, “The media should think and report with a sense of responsibility,” Cheong Wa Dae briefing asserted, “We should get out of a specter during the time of security dictatorship. Some opposition parties and the media that profited during the time of security dictatorship should be blamed.” But the argument is criticized to be a ridiculous buck-passing.

Choi Sung, a member of ruling Uri party criticized in his writing posted on his homepage, “The senior secretary’s writing was an improper briefing. I felt embarrassed reading it. In an atmosphere where the government seems to be waging a war with the media, the government’s peace and prosperity policy would lose its momentum.”

Yeon-Wook Jung jyw11@donga.com sya@donga.com