With US on our side we have power, say South Koreans
DEMONSTRATORS gathered in Seoul yesterday to demand the South Korean government take a hard-line approach to North Korean provocation, and support US action against Pyongyang.
“Mr President Trump. We wish you pre-emptive strikes against N Korea,” read one prominent banner in Gwanghwamun Square, in the centre of the capital.
Rally participant Hwang Jeongwook, 50, said: “We believe that Donald Trump should strike. I am a little worried about it, but we have the power to retaliate with US help.”
The demonstrators, supporters of disgraced former president Park Geun-hye, who was recently impeached on corruption charges, linked her demise to “North Korean apologists” intent on ousting her.
Ahead of a snap presidential election on May 9, many within the crowd said they were looking to Mr Trump to help them preserve their national security.
“I believe in the strength of the alliance between South Korea and the US and that the US will protect us,” said Jang Sung-o, 63, a retired government official.
As they rallied, US troops performed military exercises near the border with the North, in a show of support.
A much larger demonstration took place in the spring sunshine on the opposite end of Gwanghwamun Square, where thousands flocked to an anti-corruption rally.
Many South Koreans prioritise this fight above threats from the North.
“We’ve all become immune to North Korean rhetoric,” said teacher Kim Dong-suk, 44. “I actually came here today to voice my opinion about the current state of our education curriculum.”
On Tuesday, Cho June-hyuck, a spokesman for South Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sought to reassure the public that the US would not undertake military action without first consulting Seoul.
But the general response to North Korea’s sabre-rattling has been one of jaded resignation. South Koreans have come to expect threatening rhetoric every year in April, when their military holds annual exercises with US forces.
In Seoul life goes on – Coldplay have arrived to play their first gig here and declared it a “glorious morning”.
“People feel very calm. Ever since the end of the Korean War we’ve seen this kind of provocation from the North,” explained Kim Eun-sok, 55, a housewife enjoying a coffee in a downtown café with her husband.
“I’m asking myself why the international community thinks this is such a threat, when for us it’s just a daily occurrence? Kim Jong-un is always showing off his weapons.”
The regularity of provocation from the North was reflected in local newspapers, with several choosing not to splash on Saturday with threats of a military clash between Pyongyang and Washington.
“Every serious Korea analyst I know, we’re all saying that a strike would be a terrible idea, and it’s probably not going to happen. There was almost monolithic expert opinion on this, that Trump was bluffing,” said Robert Kelly, a political science professor at Pusan National University.
But Prof Kelly also cautioned against jumping to quick conclusions about Pyongyang’s latest audacious display of weaponry, some of which could be fake.
“The North Koreans punk us all the time,” he said.
“They love this stuff. They love the attention. They love the Western media coming, and all the ‘James Bond’ international mystery stuff around Kim Jong-un.”
Tensions with the North have become an election issue, albeit secondary to the flagging economy, as the presidential campaign gets ready to kick off officially on Monday.