Reactions by President Office and military are not adequate

The presidential office Cheong Wa Dae’s too slow and passive reactions to North Korea’s landmine blast makes it doubtful whether such reactions can deter North Korea from making further provocations. “We sternly urge North Korea to apologize for this provocation and punish those responsible,” said Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson Min Kyung-wook in a brief on Tuesday. It is frustrating to see that the presidential office’s stern warning against the North Korea is only a statement, which was even belatedly released in the midst of criticism of the press after the presidential office kept silence when the defense ministry announced the landmine blast was North Korea’s attack.

President Park Geun-hye strongly criticized Pyongyang’s change of the standard time zone and said “very regretful” on Monday when the defense ministry announced that the landmines were laid by North Korea. However, the president has never spoken about the landmine explosion, which made South Korean soldiers shed blood. If President Park took North Korea’s provocation seriously, which was the first provocation since she took office, she may have sent a stern message to the North aiming at Kim Jong Un.

It is hard to expect effective results from Cheong Wa Dae’s belated calling for apology and punishment of those responsible. From the Korean War in 1950 to bombardment on Yeonpyeong Island in the West Sea in 2010, Pyongyang has made provocations several times. But they never made a sincere apology nor punished the responsible officials. The presidential office has made a tenuous demand in a belated manner. It is worrisome if North Korea may look down on South Korean government’s willingness to take actions against the North.

The South Korean defense ministry resumed border propaganda operations by switching on only two out of 11 loudspeakers in the border areas. It gives an impression that the ministry is afraid of backlash from the North. The loudspeakers in the border areas were removed after the inter-Korean agreement in 2004. But the ministry reinstalled when the South Korean Navy frigate Cheonan was torpedoed by North Korea in 2010 and never used them until now because of concerns on counteractions from North Korea. If the South Korean government pretends to take actions, the North would not be scared. Defense minister Han Min-gu said, “The military will actively launch operations to take control of the DMZ back.” However, it is hard to say ‘active’ if the minister’s saying means a mere ramping up of the border security in the DMZ.

“I wish we can pay back to North Korea with tens of thousand times of pain that my comrades would have felt,” said soldiers who were in the search operation when landmines exploded. The South Korean government and military must take strong actions so that young soldiers would not feel sense of helplessness or shame. No one would welcome raise of military tension between the two Koreas. However, if the South Korean government is afraid of it, it cannot protect freedom and prosperity of the South from military provocations of the North. This is the time for President Park to show strong commitment.