Scrapped intel pact draws U.S. into deepening S Korea-Japan dispute

South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young met U.S. Ambassador Harry Harris on Wednesday and asked that the United States' tone down its public criticism of South Korea's decision not to renew the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan,

This is great. 'Please don't tell anyone how you think we screwed up, we are well aware of it.'

@extanker

Harris already complied, he stopped talking.

Unless there is a 180 degree change in South Korea's leadership and political and diplomatic attitude towards Japan and the US-JPN-SK strategic alliance, South Korea is not a country worth protecting with American lives.

"South Korea’s decision to scrap a military intelligence-sharing pact with Japan has led to an increasingly public split with the United States, just when the allies face rising tensions with North Korea and new competition from China and Russia. "

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-japan-usa/scrapped-intelligence-pact-draws-united-states-into-deepening-south-korea-japan-dispute-idUSKCN1VJ0J6

And no, Amb Harris has not "complied" with anything since his speech was cancelled. The United States does not accept stupid demands from other countries, particularly untrustworthy ones.

Harris already complied, he stopped talking.

Haha! You think this is a good thing for South Korea... When the people you are making angry become silent, that is a bad sign for you.

Moon and his cronies would be wise to stop trying to make demands of people smarter than they are and start listening to them instead, before it's too late.

Quote ''South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young met U.S. Ambassador Harry Harris on Wednesday and asked that the United States' tone down its public criticism of South Korea's decision not to renew the General Security of Military Information Agreement GSOMIA.

You either agree with us America or keep quiet. Don't criticize S. Korea when it does something stupid which affects our security including yours as well.

In short, South Korea told the US to shut your trap.

@quercetum

In short, South Korea told the US to shut your trap.

Indeed, you can never expect Abe san or Japanese officials to do the same to the US.

South Korea see the true face of Japan using the tragedies of the Koreans to boost her own aggressive strategy! Good job! "Moon JaeIn" you  are a Korean national hero!  Next step is the scrapping of US military alliances and kick outy US troops, they were frightening to Korean  citizens for decades!

I'm not in S.K, but I feel that SK is facing social, financial and political problems. Whenever those problems happen politics use Japan as a way to distract her people from domestic issues.

What a farce.

South Korean government flailing away as usual.

@expat: I read the whole article, it's interesting, but also pretty biased. You can say that also by the use of some emotional words like "sinister" to describe American actions.

The main point of the article is that the US favoured a new Japanese colonization of SK, this time only economic, to keep their military hegemony in East Asia. The writer looks to describe the Americans and the Japanese like some villains who abused of South Korea all the time, while the South Koreans were always only poor innocent victims. It basically minimizes the role of all South Korean leaders and people, especially in the business community, who were for convenience pro-Japanese and pro-Americans, like if they weren't Korean, and you could consider like "true Koreans" only the ones against Japan/America. Basically, it takes off any responsabillity from any Korean leader in modern South Korean politics. It speaks about how the Americans covered Japanese war crimes in South Korea for their agenda, but it makes Koreans look victims also in their involvement in Vietnam war, omitting the atrocities Korean soldiers committed there and the fact that the SK government got a lot of $$$ from the US for this involvement.

According to the writer, the 1965 Treaty was forced by the Americans on the Koreans, but it should be considered invalid because it was made with a dictator. So, according to this logic, I guess we could say also that it's absurd to continue to ask Japanese to pay for their war crimes, since they were committed under a totalitarian regime, that today is considered illegitimate exactly like the Park Chung-hee regime. But the writer misses this point conveniently. Also his whole idea that basically with the 1965 Treaty US supported a new Japanese colonization of South Korea is really absurd. I'd like to remind him that South Korea, unlike Japan, has a proper army. The US favoured Japanese investments and economic aid in South Korea? Sure. But calling this "colonization" is absurd. Are we sure that South Korea was treated so bladly by the US? If we follow the writer logic, any post WWII deal, also in Europe, could be considered illegitimate. So I don't get his point at all. Is he suggesting that the US should destroy all the basis of the pax americana?

South Korean First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Sei-young met U.S. Ambassador Harry Harris on Wednesday and asked that the United States' tone down its public criticism of South Korea's decision not to renew the General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with Japan,

This is great. 'Please don't tell anyone how you think we screwed up, we are well aware of it.'

What is clear is that the Korean ambassador called on the US ambassador to "Stop repeating the expression of regret for South Korea, who made the decision of the gsomia. Regrets do not help or contribute to the alliance."

And that's the opinion of the government, but the US knows that the demands of the people are strong.

So he delivered Korean doctors to America.

Certainly after that, the American expression changed. The next day, the Pentagon spokesman said, "I'm disappointed by both Korea and Japan. I hope to bring it back." 

 And later, "One thing is for sure, it started in Japan's export regulations." Said.

In Korea, public opinion is strongly influenced by politics. The fact is respected because the United States knows.

In fact, gsomia was signed three years ago by South Korea's continued refusal of what the US and Japan wanted.

Until three years ago, he lived without gsomia.

So Korea doesn't care about gosmia.