Category: Aggregated

There could not be a more extreme contrast than that between the proposals of the two leading statesmen who are visiting South Korea today.

As Indian President Narendra Modi offers development cooperation and a strategic alliance for peace in Asia, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Seoul ranting about North Korea, threatening new sanctions and to take Pyongyang to the International Criminal Court (ICC), while lying that there is “not an inch, not a centimeter, not a microscope (sic)” of difference between the United States and South Korea in the approach to the North.

As documented in depth in EIR, Seoul, despite serious concerns over the erratic regime in the North, is deeply involved in ongoing development projects involving South Korea, North Korea, and Russia. President Park Geun-hye is intent on building rail and pipeline connections through North Korea to Russia and China within this year, as part of a “peace through development” approach.

Kerry’s threats are clearly aimed at the South as well as the North. He raved: “The world is hearing increasingly more and more stories of grotesque, grisly, horrendous, public displays of executions,” referring to press reports last week that the South Korea intelligence agency had reported that one of North Korea’s top military officials had been executed with anti-aircraft weapons in public. Even the South’s spy agency has now retracted its report of the execution, but that did not restrain Kerry’s hysteria.

The purpose was made clear when Kerry met with U.S. military forces in Seoul, saying that the threat from the North means “we need to deploy ships, forces, and we are talking about THAAD.” This is Kerry’s first reference to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) missiles, South Korea recognizes THAAD is useless against North Korea, 30 miles away, and is only intended as part of the encirclement of China and Russia — which South Korea refuses to be part of.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei responded to Kerry’s belligerence: “Under the current complex and sensitive situation on the Korean Peninsula, we hope that the relevant parties can do more to ease the situation and do things conducive to the resumption of the six-party talks.”

Park Geun-hye is planning to visit Washington in June.