Korea needs united front with U.S.
His differences with President Donald Trump may have helped win Moon Jae-in the presidency of South Korea. Now he and Mr. Trump need to focus on what unites them.
During the campaign, Mr. Moon took issue with the U.S. administration’s approach to North Korea.
In the past, he’s called for engaging economically with the North and restarting joint development projects, rather than seeking to isolate Kim Jong Un’s regime.
He opposed what he portrayed as the rushed deployment of a U.S. system designed to shoot down North Korean missiles, saying the decision should have been left to the new government.
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump roiled the waning days of the campaign by threatening to scrap the bilateral free-trade agreement between the two allies and demanding that South Korea pay the $1 billion bill for the anti-missile system.
Continued posturing would be counterproductive for both men. Mr. Moon’s first task as president has to be to restore faith in South Korea’s political and economic system.
The corruption scandal that brought down his predecessor, Park Geun-hye, sparked public fury at ties between government officials and the corporate titans running Korea’s sprawling industrial conglomerates, known as chaebol.
Mr. Moon has backed reforms that would make the chaebol more transparent and lessen their grip on the economy. But he’ll need help from opposition lawmakers to pass any substantive changes.
As for Mr. Trump, harping on supposed trade inequities and squeezing a valued partner for money it doesn’t legally owe is shortsighted and futile. The fact is, the U.S. has benefited no less than South Korea from their bilateral trade agreement, and any flaws in the deal can surely be addressed without calling into question the entire pact. Complaining about how much it costs to help defend South Korea only raises doubts about the U.S.’s reliability — to no discernible end, as more responsible members of Trump’s administration are inevitably forced to walk back his comments.
Most important, any to expand its nuclear capabilities daylight between the U.S. by skillfully taking and South Korea undermines advantage of gaps in the the goal of reining global sanctions net; even in North Korea’s nuclear now, as relations with program. For one thing, China fray, it’s looking to expand disunity eases pressure on ties with Russia. China to play a more responsible Despite their rhetoric, the role on the new U.S. and South Korean Korean peninsula leaders. really aren’t that far Although Chinese leaders apart in their approaches to are making encouraging Pyongyang. Both men say noises, it’s unclear how far they’re not looking to overthrow they’re willing to go to Kim. pressure Mr. Kim. If they Both say they are open to believe the new South negotiating with him, under Korean administration favors the right conditions. The a more lenient approach, best chance of achieving they’ll have every those conditions — and it’s a reason to slacken their efforts slim one — is to convince as well. Mr. Kim that he faces a resolute
North Korea would exploit and united international any divisions even front. Mr. Trump and more eagerly. Mr. Moon should be doing
The Pyongyang regime everything in their power to has survived and continued build one.