Park Kwang-on: "Korea-US-Japan Military Cooperation Has More Drawbacks Than Benefits... Could Trigger a New Cold War"

Ahead of the Korea-US-Japan Summit, Concerns Raised: "Losing More Than Gaining"
"Worries About a 'New Cold War' Confrontation with North Korea, China, and Russia"

Park Kwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, pointed out regarding the upcoming Korea-US-Japan summit to be held in the United States on the 18th (local time) that “military cooperation involves more losses than gains in many aspects, and the concerns outweigh the expectations, which should be taken seriously.”

Park Kwang-on, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly on the 17th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 17th, at a policy coordination meeting held at the National Assembly, Floor Leader Park stated, “Please do not forget the significant concerns that strengthening Korea-US-Japan military cooperation could trigger a new Cold War structure opposing North Korea, China, and Russia.”

He added, “In the past, former President Kim Dae-jung and the Democratic Party emphasized that the US’s proposal to strengthen Korea-US-Japan military cooperation could provoke North Korea, China, and Russia, and instead launched a Korea-US-Japan cooperative framework focused on North Korea. Based on such balanced and pragmatic diplomacy, the Kim Dae-jung-Obuchi Declaration and the Harry Process achievements were realized.”

Floor Leader Park said, “Standing on the front line to contain China is like standing on a razor’s edge,” and added, “Our country has survived and prospered through trade. We must be cautious about choosing an economic security situation skewed to one side that provokes hostility from certain countries.”

He emphasized, “Institutionalizing military cooperation between Korea and Japan requires the consent of the National Assembly and the people. It is greatly against the will of the people for our country to indirectly tolerate Japan’s rearmament, which still offers sacrifices at Yasukuni Shrine, where Class A war criminals are enshrined.”

He continued, “What is urgently needed is bold national interest diplomacy that advocates strengthening Korea-US-Japan cooperation on North Korea, not military cooperation, like former President Kim Dae-jung did. Above all, this could be a golden opportunity to inform the international community about the risks of Fukushima nuclear-contaminated water and the opposition of our people.”

Kim Min-seok, chairman of the Policy Committee, pointed out at the policy coordination meeting that “At a time just before the Korea-US-Japan trilateral summit, the US’s firm stance on using the name ‘Sea of Japan’ for the East Sea is symbolic of the US easily siding with Japan against the Korean government, which has set aside issues like colonial rule and Yasukuni Shrine visits.”

Chairman Kim urged the government to awaken, saying, “We call on the government to ensure that the trilateral summit does not become a marginal diplomacy that dilutes the national interests and values of the Republic of Korea under the illusion of Korea-Japan shared values and the national strategies of the US and Japan.”

Earlier, President Yoon emphasized Korea-US-Japan security cooperation in his Liberation Day speech on the 15th, stating, “To block North Korea’s nuclear missile threats, close cooperation of reconnaissance assets and real-time sharing of information among Korea, the US, and Japan must be achieved.”

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