"‘It Was Like This 13 Years Ago’ Bolton Memoir's Impact: A 'Skeptical' Diagnosis"

[Image source=EPA Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] Diplomatic and security experts in the United States are largely dismissing former U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton's memoir, "The Room Where It Happened," which has caused significant ripples between the U.S. and its allies, as merely Bolton's personal perspective.

A source well-versed in New York's diplomatic circles told Asia Economy on the 22nd (local time), "Bolton published a book full of nonsense 13 years ago as well, which sparked controversy," emphasizing that his testimony has minimal impact on diplomatic affairs. Bolton published a book in 2007 titled "Surrender Is Not an Option," which was also said to be detached from facts. In that book, Bolton harshly criticized the South Korean government's approach to North Korea, including making disparaging remarks about Lim Dong-won, former National Intelligence Service chief who led dialogues with North Korea during the Kim Dae-jung administration.

Other experts also expect Bolton's new book to have little adverse effect on U.S. government foreign policy. Although sensitive issues involving China, North Korea, and others have been revealed in detail, since the book reflects Bolton's viewpoint and contains unverified matters, countries are unlikely to respond excessively. Ankit Panda, senior researcher at the Federation of American Scientists (FAS), tweeted, "The North Korea-U.S. diplomatic process mentioned in Bolton's memoir is not surprising at all," adding, "His claims about North Korea's capabilities are nonsense and inaccurate."

A Voice of America (VOA) official also relayed the reaction of U.S. officials, stating, "There is nothing that would surprise bureaucrats, and although the South Korean government exaggerated North Korea's intentions, it is not a situation warranting criticism regarding the current deadlock." The official added, "Bureaucrats believe that the South Korean government's peace agenda and the U.S. government's denuclearization efforts can coexist and that the impact on North Korea-U.S. negotiations will be minimal."

There is also a forecast that the U.S.-China relationship will not be significantly affected. David Lampton, a leading U.S. expert on China and a researcher at Stanford University's Asia-Pacific Research Center, assessed the impact of Bolton's memoir on U.S.-China relations by stating, "His target is not China but President Donald Trump." He predicted, "The influence of this memoir will be limited to Trump rather than Beijing authorities." He also evaluated that Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden no longer needs to join in criticizing China because it has become clear who did not side with China. This analysis suggests that unnecessary China-bashing in the upcoming election campaign has become meaningless.

Lampton further introduced that China's senior leadership prefers President Trump's reelection, judging that Trump is easier to deal with than Biden from China's perspective.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.