Taeyoungho "Will Lee Jae-myung also hold China and Russia responsible for the division of the Korean Peninsula?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Tae Young-ho, a former North Korean diplomat and member of the People Power Party, criticized Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, for mentioning the Katsura-Taft Agreement during a recent meeting with a U.S. senator, asking, "Will you also hold Chinese and Russian politicians responsible for the division of the Korean Peninsula?"

On the 15th, Tae posted on his Facebook, "North Korea does not bring up a hundred-year-old history to American politicians who visit Pyongyang," pointing out this issue.

During a meeting on the 12th with John Ossoff, a U.S. Senator from Georgia, Lee said, "The reason Korea was annexed by Japan is because the U.S. won through the 'Katsura-Taft Agreement'." This statement essentially places the cause of the Japan-Korea annexation on the U.S. side.

Senator Ossoff is known as a prominent pro-Korea lawmaker in the U.S. Congress, and 117 Korean companies, including Kia Motors and SK Innovation, have operations in Georgia. Ossoff's mother also served as a committee member for the establishment of the Atlanta Statue of Peace in 2017.

Referring to Lee's mention of the 'Katsura-Taft' agreement to Senator Ossoff, Tae pointed out, "Even the Kim family, the most hostile to the U.S. in North Korea, does not bring up a hundred years of Korea-U.S. history to American politicians or administration officials who come to Pyongyang to resolve issues with North Korea."

He added, "From North Korea’s perspective, which prioritizes changes in U.S. North Korea policy as its most important policy goal, it is much more practical to persuade the U.S. to forget the past and move toward the future rather than talk about historical issues," and said, "If you want to talk about North Korea’s anti-American historical view, they quietly take you to history museums."

Tae stated, "What South Korea needs now is a president who wisely protects our interests amid U.S.-China conflicts rather than a president who keeps digging up our painful past wounds," and criticized, "I wonder if Lee’s strategy of questioning the U.S. responsibility for the Korean Peninsula on his first diplomatic debut stage as a presidential candidate is perhaps an election strategy relying on anti-American sentiment."

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