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| Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul |
By Jhoo Dong-chan
South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yeon-chul has been experiencing a series of humiliations during his
seven-day trip to the United States. Kim took off for Washington Nov. 17, and started suffering bitter insults on the very first day of his tour.
He first met U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Stephen Biegun at the State Department complex on Monday. Kim told reporters after his two-hour meeting with Biegun that he explained the significance of the Mount Geumgang project.
He reiterated his stance during a keynote speech at the United States Institute of Peace that the South Korean government is aiming at "resuming the Mount Geumgang project as a basic framework for sustainable negotiation channels between the two Koreas."
His remark, however, faced mounting criticism here that it was irrelevant to current issues facing the two Koreas.
Washington has imposed continuous pressure on Seoul to renew its General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) intel-sharing pact with Japan. It also demands a whopping increase in Seoul's burden of defense costs mostly for the maintenance of some 28,500 United States Forces Korea (USFK) troops.
The inter-Korean relationship has, needless to say, been in a stalemate for months. Last week, North Korea said it will unilaterally remove South Korea's facilities on Mount Geumgang, a site which was once a rare example of inter-Korean cooperation.
Under the circumstances, it was natural Kim's remark received a chilly reception in Washington.
The humiliation did not stop there.
Following Kim's meeting with Biegun, a North Koran defector group staged a rally against Kim over the Moon administration's recent decision to deport two North Korean fishermen when Kim held a conference at a restaurant near Washington, D.C.
"You and President Moon Jae-in are murderers sending the two young men back to North Korea," the defector group leader said during the event.
"Even Kim Hyon-hui, who was responsible for bombing an airplane to kill 115 people, was not sent back to the North."
The defector group's position is in line with human right groups here condemning the government's move to deport the two fishermen to the North where they are likely to face torture and execution.
Opposition lawmakers also denounced the decision based on South Korea's constitutional framework recognizing North Koreans as South Korean nationals who should be judged by South Korean law.
South Korea's Constitution in theory recognizes North Koreans as South Korean nationals and South Korea usually accepts North Korean refugees following a background check. Lawmakers claimed, therefore, the government should have provided them with legal protection.
