Although it is true that Japan lacks reflection and apology for its harsh colonial rule, there is no realistic possibility that the Japanese military will invade Korea once more by force. Rather, in order to respond to the threat of a nuclear attack from North Korea and calls from totalitarian countries such as China and Russia, it is inevitable to strengthen practical cooperation with Japan, a ‘liberal democracy’. The recent joint exercise in the East Sea between South Korea, the US, and Japan is nothing more than a very rudimentary military cooperation in response to these security demands in Northeast Asia.
Despite this, Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized harsh words on the 10th, such as “acknowledging the Self-Defense Forces as a Japanese military,” “the pearl of the Japanese military,” and “the day the Rising Sun Flag is caught once more on the Korean Peninsula.” Earlier, on the 7th, he denounced the trilateral exercises as “extreme pro-Japanese behavior” and “pro-Japanese national defense.” On the 11th, an ‘Emergency Peace and Security Countermeasures Meeting’ was held by inviting some foreign and security experts. We want to continue the pro-Japanese debate.
On the other hand, President Lee did not have any meaningful criticism of the North Korean threat that even carried out tactical nuclear exercises. He only said that “the ROK-U.S. alliance and our own national defense force can sufficiently protect our security”, but this is also not true. Successive governments except the Moon Jae-in administration have pursued many means to combat North Korean nuclear weapons, but there is no perfect nuclear weapons defense system. So, he pursued multiple countermeasures such as kill chain and THAAD.
In the meantime, President Lee has made claims such as “the US military is an occupying force” and “Korea-Japan annexation because of the Katsura-Taft Treaty,” and this time he closes his eyes to the North Korean nuclear threat and instigates an unrealistic virtual Japanese threat. The Democratic Party is also passive in the National Assembly’s resolution condemning North Korea’s legalization of nuclear use. However, the majority of the people’s reaction to the anti-Japanese movement is calm. This can be seen by looking at the surge in tourists to Japan. In the end, isn’t it my intention to gather supporters to stop the investigation of corruption in which he is involved? The speech of a member of the National Assembly member Un-ha Un-ha, who said, “The Yoon Seok-yeol government resigned following less than 5 years,” appears in the same vein.
