Senior US official to push South Korea to keep intelligence pact with Japan

[soryang]

Senior U.S. official for Asia to push South Korea to keep intelligence pact with Japan
JIJI 10/27

A senior U.S. official on Saturday expressed readiness to urge South Korea to maintain its military intelligence-sharing agreement with Japan.

“We do of course encourage the Korean side to return to this agreement because it benefits us, benefits you and it certainly benefits them as well,” David Stilwell, U.S. assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific affairs, said at a news conference.

https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/10/27/national/politics-diplomacy/senior-u-s-official-south-korea-japan-gsomia/#.XbX-ouhKhPZ

I question the former general's judgement and alleged expertise. The US and Japan are just bludgeoning the current democratic South Korean administration. Look at the policy chain of command at the state department with respect to South Korea, all military men, Pompeo, Stilwell and Ambassador Harris.

Here is Tim Shorrock's comment on this article on twitter:

70 years in Korea and US officials still refuse to recognize South Korean sovereignty and continue to see the ROK as a junior partner in the US-Japanese sphere of influence. Truly disgusting.

Link to tweet

Almost a year ago, i wrote an interpretation of a History Journal telecast in South Korea that suggested the Treaty of Eulsa of 1905 during the heyday of great power imperialism, despised in South Korea, appeared to presage current US (and Japanese) attitudes toward treatment of South Korea:

History Journal lesson - Advice to South Korean Leadership?

There was an interesting discussion on the KBS History Journal recently about the so called Treaty of Eulsa signed by representatives of the Chosun dynasty on Nov. 17, 1905 which established the "protectorate" status of Korea under the Japanese Imperial government. It appears that one of arguments that led to the treasonous signing of the agreement was that Korea should leave foreign policy to the rich and powerful countries.

The discussion among the South Korean historians gave the impression, they were trying to make a point here about the dangers of giving up foreign policy to foreign powers. This as Secretary Mike Pompeo and his special representive to "North Korea," Stephan Biegun, and their working group with South Korean officials, attempt to restrict South Korean policy initiatives toward North Korea. This is the so called "no daylight" approach. The US is clearly trying to take control of South Korean policy after being caught flat footed by President Moon Jae In's numerous initiatives, political, cultural, economic, and military with North Korea.

https://civilizationdiscontents.blogspot.com/2018/11/history-channel-lesson-advice-to-south.html

The question is how and why did this sovereign impulse emerge now after 70 years of US and Japanese domination of South Korean foreign policy? As T.K. Park has documented on his blog, Ask a Korean, it's too late to suppress the problem, the so called 1965 System is over. Or is it? Is this the reason for current political instability in South Korea? Some morning we may wake up and find as we did almost 40 years ago to the day, that some violent coup d'etat just "happened" in South Korea. If far right conservatives in South Korea get their way and remove Moon Jae In from power one way or the other, will they capitulate to the 5 billion dollar demands of the US for military cost sharing? Will they capitulate to Japanese demands? Such a policy course is not likely to go smoothly without some repudiation of the democracy that has emerged in South Korea.