What Effects Will the Abduction of Kim Have on Diplomatic Issues?

It seems that the Iraqi insurgents’ abduction of Kim Sun-il, which happened right after the Korean government confirmed the dispatch of additional troops to Iraq on June 18, will have effects on the main diplomatic problems such as reestablishing the Korea-U.S. alliance and solving North Korea’s nuclear issue.

The Korean government has taken the position that promoting friendly relations between Korea and U.S. by dispatching additional troops to Iraq is helpful in the peaceful settlement of the North Korean nuclear issue. However, the affair has a possibility to negatively affect Korea-U.S. relations if it leads to the spread of the belief that the reinforcement of the Korea-U.S. alliance can bring about threats to the Korean people’s lives.

It was reported that there was a short informal discussion on Kim’s kidnap among the participating countries at the second working-level meeting of the six-party talks in Beijing, China, which was held for settlement of North Korea’s nuclear issue, on June 21.

The most desirable scenario for the Korean government is for the affair to be settled amicably and that the dispatch of additional troops contributes to the reinforcement of the Korea-U.S. alliance and the settlement of the North Korean nuclear issue, in which it has failed to make progress. Regarding Korea’s confirmation of additional troop dispatch, the U.S. State Department announced a statement on June 18 which said that they appreciated Korea’s meaningful contribution.

However, it is early to say that such an attitude of U.S. will make a positive effect in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue because the U.S. wants to deal with the Iraq issue separately from the nuclear issue.

Therefore, when the Korean government cannot bring out a visible effect from supporting the U.S., which was intended to help the settlement of the nuclear issue, it will be put in an awkward position both domestically and internationally.

It is the reason why some people in the government voice concerns that they should reconsider the policy relating the troop dispatch to the North Korea issue and unless otherwise, extreme expectations of the U.S. can lead to big disappointment.

Hyong-gwon Pu bookum90@donga.com