U.S., Seoul, differ publicly on action call
How North Korea plays into the economic globalization or nationalization of South Korea... Interesting dynamics between Seoul and Washington.
(DSL)
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U.S., Seoul, differ publicly on action call
JoongAng Daily
January 26, 2006
It did not take long for the Foreign Ministry to object to a statement on Tuesday by the U.S. Embassy saying that a visiting U.S. team had urged Seoul to act to protect itself from North Korean counterfeiting. President Roh Moo-hyun also weighed in on the fray yesterday at his first press conference of the year.
Yesterday, the ministry spokesman issued a rebuttal, which took the embassy to task for a statement that "does not reflect accurately the results of the joint consultations." That, the ministry said, was "not appropriate" and complained that Washington was "exaggerating" in its account of the talks.
The ministry conceded that the Americans "suggested a need for cooperation in general terms but did not, officially or unofficially, urge our government to take concrete measures."
A senior government official said, bluntly but anonymously, that the U.S. press release did not report "adequately and in a balanced way" what had transpired. He said the Foreign Ministry had protested to the embassy and received a response that he said met Seoul's expectations. Citing diplomatic sensitivities, he did not elaborate.
Perhaps those expectations were low. Robert Ogburn, the embassy spokesman, said yesterday that the embassy stood by the contents of the press release. Asked if Washington had apologized to Seoul, as some Korean officials had suggested, he said the embassy would "respect the privacy of diplomacy."
At yesterday's meeting with the press, President Roh was asked if he believed that North Korea was involved in counterfeiting. In a rambling answer, he began by complaining that "some Americans" were raising issues about North Korea "or pressuring it or sometimes wishing for its collapse." He said firmly, "We do not agree." On the counterfeiting charges specifically, he asked for more time, saying it would be inappropriate for a Korean president to comment now. He called for working-level consultations to reconcile the differences of opinion.
A source in Washington described the meetings in Seoul to the JoongAng Ilbo, saying that the U.S. team told its Korean counterparts that in 1996, Pyongyang had imported large quantities of special inks used to print currency notes. They cited that as strong evidence of a link to the counterfeit $100 "supernotes" that soon began appearing. Officials here, he said, pointed out that the North was revising its 500-won note at about that time, but the Americans argued that the move was an attempt to disguise its intentions.
Washington has also charged that links between North Korea and the Banco Delta Asia in Macao, which resulted in warnings to the bank by U.S. officials, gave Pyongyang an outlet for its counterfeit currency. Officials here say that an investigation by Chinese officials is still going on.
Seoul continues to say publicly that more evidence is needed to prove the link between North Korea and the supernotes.
posted by KoreanPop@Penn @ 9:31 AM
2 Comments:
The relations between Seoul and Washington from a cultural aspect is very fascinating as it highlights the globalization vs. nationalization debate as well as the revolutionary or evolutionary transitions in the South Korean perspective on America (as relates to matters of North Korea, trade, U.S. Military presence, China, etc).
The liberation of Korea from Japan has been a hallmark event for Korean history and culture as a very pro-Western influence settled on the southern areas of the peninsula. Inspired and convinced of the values of democracy, pro-Americanism and anti-communism in the midst of the Cold War, the South Korean people continued to value the ideas and policies of Washington, most highlighted by the U.S. leadership during the Koraen Conflict. Those generations of Koreans were brought up to respect the United States and with the mannerisms of the Korean culture, that respect was not as questioned as much as other societies would have.
With the Korean Conflict generation beginning to phase away and the new generation of Koreans who have no real experience with the historic U.S. aid to South Korea (most notably during 1950-1953), the Korean culture towards America has opened much more to diverse ideas and perceptions. The U.S. Military accidents that have resulted in the deaths of Korean civilians, the U.S. control over the ROK-US Combined Forces Command unit against North Korea, the more adversarial stance of U.S. foreign policy against North Korea and other issues have raised the cultural phenomenom of not being pro-American to even becoming Anti-American. The signs are clear, notably the election of the current ROK President Noh Moo-Hyun whose political promises of being firm against U.S. influence in South Korea won him great fame and support from the younger generations resulting in his election over a more traditionalist-status quo politician.
As seen in the movie "Please Teach Me English", the Chinese influence is becoming stronger. In 2004, China became the largest trading partner for Korea for the first time, having beaten the United States. China represents a booming economy with a much more similar heritage.
And yet, despite the growing cultural sentiment of challenging the status quo such as pro-Americanism, these young Korean generations still look upon English as their tool to financial or social success. The English language is truly outside the realm of Americanism and globalization has become less a little more distinct from Americanization from the Korean perspective.
Now whether this anti-Americanism is a facet of cultural revolution or evolution is probably and hopefully not the sign of the future. Rather, it will be seen as the Korean culture opening up its ideas to the minorities and to the young generations who will challenge or at least steer away from the status quo because of their different upbringings, their different environments and their changing values. This opening up of ideas (such as that which was mentioned in one of the readings regarding Cinephilia) could be interpreted as a "Western" influence. As for the English becoming Korea's perceived way of success but not necessarily a contract to becoming pro-America, well, that is just the influence of capitalism, which has become integrated into the Korean culture for sure. (EKuh)
http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200601/200601110019.html
Even China said NK is guilty of counterfeiting. What more does Seoul want? a confession from Pyongyang?
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