Donald Trump Channels the Left in South Korea: Engage the North and Bring U.S. Troops Home

South Korea’s political convulsions seem likely to deliver a new president sooner rather than later. Elections are scheduled for December, but if the Constitutional Court ratifies the National Assembly’s impeachment of President Park Geun-hye the poll will come months sooner. What remains of the devastated ruling party hoped for salvation through the candidacy of former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, but he has abandoned the race. The opposition has a decided advantage, especially the sooner the vote is held. There are plenty of contenders on the left. On the rise is Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung, who has gained notoriety pushing for Park’s ouster. Lee styles himself as the Korean Bernie Sanders, railing against economic inequality and corporate privilege. Of greater interest to Washington, however, is Lee’s perspective on security issues. South Korea’s left long has had a love/hate relationship with America. Washington’s support for the military dictatorships of Park’s father, Park Chung-hee, and Chun Doo-hwan, who emerged after Park pere’s assassination, soured many South Koreans on the alliance. Nevertheless, fear of North Korea and desire to avoid having to bear the full cost of defending against the North led even Presidents Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun to preserve the relationship. Similarly, the main opposition party’s formal leader and current presumptive presidential nominee Moon Jae-in supports the status quo with the U.S. Not Lee, however. He has a very different perspective on security issues, and sharply antagonistic opinions as to America’s role. He recently complained that U.S.-ROK ties had “degenerated into a subordinate relationship where we give whatever amounts of money they ask us to give.” Instead, he argued, “The U.S. should be begging us for the defense of East Asia.” He suggested defenestrating America’s nearly 29,000 troops, renegotiating the bilateral free trade agreement, and talking with North Korea’s Kim Jong-un. Ironically, the Trump administration might be sympathetic to all of these policies, though perhaps for different reasons than Lee. President Donald Trump is a committed protectionist and views virtually any agreement reducing any U.S. trade barriers as unfair to America; presumably he believes this applies to South Korea. He might be happy to tear up the FTA, even though Americans would pay more for imports and sell fewer exports, an economically painful combination. Candidate Trump also indicated his willingness to talk with Kim. The president did not indicate whether he meant personally meet or governments engage, but broadly speaking it’s a sensible idea. Refusing to have diplomatic relations for the last 69 years has achieved nothing. Isolation has not convinced Pyongyang to give up its nuclear and missile programs. Engagement offers no sure path to success, of course. But regular contact might discover limited areas where agreement was possible, encourage modest confidence-building measures, reduce tensions and perceived threats, and provide a limited window into an almost uniquely opaque system. Negotiations should not be seen as a reward with the North, but the best means to salvage something from years of U.S. failure in dealing with the DPRK. Finally, candidate Trump […]

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