SOUTH KOREA: COUNTRY APPEARS TORN OVER ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE UNITED STATES AMID GROWING ANTI-U.S. SENTIMENT
Record ID:
208355
SOUTH KOREA: COUNTRY APPEARS TORN OVER ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE UNITED STATES AMID GROWING ANTI-U.S. SENTIMENT
- Title: SOUTH KOREA: COUNTRY APPEARS TORN OVER ATTITUDE TOWARDS THE UNITED STATES AMID GROWING ANTI-U.S. SENTIMENT
- Date: 15th January 2003
- Summary: (W3) SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (JANUARY 14, 2003) (REUTERS) 1. MV U.S. FLAG ZOOM OUT SLV DEMONSTRATION; SLV SCUFFLE BETWEEN PROTESTERS AND POLICE (5 SHOTS) 0.46 2. (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) PROTEST LEADER HONG KEUN-SOO SAYING: "As the desire of South Koreans to revise the SOFA (Status Of Forces Agreement) grows, the U.S. raises North Korea's nuclear issue which actually does not even exist." 0.56 3. SLV ANTI-U.S. RALLY/ BANNERS READING IN ENGLISH "Stop hostile policy toward North Korea."; SLV SEOUL STREET (5 SHOTS) 1.27 4. (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) 39-YEAR-OLD HAHN CHOONG-SHIK SAYING: "You know, in the aspect of security I think it is better to keep them (the U.S. troops)." 1.39 5. (SOUNDBITE) (Korean) 27-YEAR-OLD NAH HYUN-PIL SAYING: "Because of the North Korea's nuclear issue, the South Korean community tends to stress the importance of South Korea-U.S. alliance. But I think the real alliance is only possible when the two treat each other as the equal partners." 1.54 6. SLV SEOUL STREET 2.01 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR OF INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS AT YONSEI UNIVERSITY LEE JUNG-HOON SAYING "(The U.S. and South Korean governments understand) in the midst of a major nuclear threat from North Korea that the maintenance of the U.S.-South Korean alliance, a strong alliance is the best chance of dealing with this issue." 2.16 8. MV PROFESSOR LEE 2.21 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR LEE SAYING: "I don't think we should be foolish enough to let the anti-U.S. demonstration somehow affect our policy in dealing with the alliance and the U.S. military presence here in Korea." 2.34 (W3)POHANG, SOUTH KOREA (FILE - MARCH, 2002) (REUTERS) 10. SLV JOINT MILITARY EXERCISE BETWEEN SOUTH KOREA AND U.S. (5 SHOTS) 2.58 Initials Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved
- Embargoed: 30th January 2003 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: SEOUL AND POHANG, SOUTH KOREA
- Country: South Korea
- Reuters ID: LVA777R6PB3KX1E2YKL8WL1U7VSM
- Story Text: South Koreans seem torn about their feelings and
thoughts towards their long-time ally U.S. amid growing
anti-U.S. sentiment and possible military threat from North
Korea.
South Korean activists scuffled with police during an
anti-U.S. protest on Tuesday (January 14, 2003), defying Seoul's
efforts to rein in rallies that have strained ties with
Washington during a crisis over North Korea's nuclear
programmes.
About 30 protesters were angered when the police would not
allow them to stage their 40th "united anti-U.S. gathering" in
front of the American embassy.
After the brief scuffle, they continued a rally to protest
against the visit of Washington's top negotiator on North
Korea, Assistant U.S. Secretary of State James Kelly.
They mixed criticism of the George W. Bush
administration's policies on North Korea with demands for
changes to the Status Of Forces Agreement (SOFA) which governs
37,000 U.S. troops in South Korea.
"As the desire of South Koreans to revise the SOFA grows,
the U.S. raises North Korea's nuclear issue which actually
does not even exist," said protest leader Hong Keun-soo.
South Koreans have mounted scores of protests and
candlelit vigils since the acquittal in November of two U.S.
soldiers whose vehicle crushed two schoolgirls in a road
accident in June. The biggest rally drew several hundred
thousand people last month.
In random interviews of students and workers going about
their business in central Seoul, some demanded fairer relation
with U.S. while others admit the threat from North Korea.
"You know, in the aspect of security I think it is better
to keep them (the U.S. troops)," said 39-year-old Hahn
Choong-shik.
"Because of the North Korea's nuclear issue, the South
Korean community tends to stress the importance of South
Korea-U.S. alliance. But I think the real alliance is only
possible when the two treat each other as the equal partners,"
said 27-year-old Nah Hyun-pil.
And the task for the South Korean and U.S. governments is
complicated by rising anti-U.S. sentiment in the South, where
increasing numbers of people are taking a critical look at the
half-century bilateral relationship and are keen for more of a
say in policy on the Korean peninsula.
"(The U.S. and South Korean governments understand) in the
midst of a major nuclear threat from North Korea that the
maintenance of the U.S.-South Korean alliance, a strong
alliance is the best chance of dealing with this issue," said
professor Lee Jung-hoon (pronounced as LEE JEONG-HOON) at
Yonsei University.
Professor Lee stressed the presence of U.S. troops was
necessary for the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula.
"I don't think we should be foolish enough to let the
anti-U.S. demonstration somehow affect our policy in dealing
with the alliance and the U.S. military presence here in
Korea," professor Lee said.
U.S. President Bush has issued several apologies over the
accident of two girls, one of more than a dozen U.S. officials
to apologise to South Korea. The U.S. Army paid the families
of the victims more than $150,000 each in compensation, in
accordance with South Korean law.
And both President Kim Dae-jung and President-elect Roh
Moo-hyun (pronounced as NOH MOO-HYON) have also struggled to
portray the protests as not anti-American, saying the
activists only demand greater South Korean legal jurisdiction
over the 37,000 U.S. troops based in the country.
Roh, who takes office on February 25, also underscored to
Kelly his support for the bilateral military alliance.
U.S. and South Korean officials revised the SOFA in 2001
and have said no further revisions are necessary. But the two
countries have set up a working committee to improve
implementation of the pact.
North Korea, which the United States suspects of
developing nuclear arms and has branded part of an "axis of
evil" with Iraq and Iran, last week pulled out of a global
treaty aimed at preventing the spread of atomic weapons and
said it was free to resume missile-firing tests.
President Kim Dae-jung won the Nobel Peace Prize partly
because of his Sunshine Policy of reconciliation with North
Korea with which the South is still technically at war. The
1950-53 civil conflict ended with a mere ceasefire, not a
peace treaty.
- Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None