McCain says U.S.-Korea alliance is critical

John McCain

The U.S. Republican presidential hopeful Senator John McCain expressed staunch support for the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement and highlighted the importance of deeper ties with South Korea, which he said was “critical” for the United States to achieve its goals of fighting terrorism and seeking global security. In the three-page column he contributed to the JoongAng Ilbo, McCain also expressed his hard-line stance on North Korea’s human rights situation and nuclear weapons program. He denounced U.S. Democratic Party presidential candidates for opposing the Korea-U.S. FTA, calling them “irresponsible and short-sighted.” McCain has so far contributed columns to only three newspapers in Asia.

“Not so long ago, some even claimed the alliance [between the two countries] was on its last legs,” he said. “These voices have recently grown silent, however, rightly so, in particular after President Lee Myung-bak’s highly successful visit to the United States in March, which reaffirmed anew the extent to which the United States and Korea remain deeply bound together by both shared interests and shared values.”

The Vietnam War veteran also wasted no time sternly criticizing the North’s leader, Kim Jong-il, even indicating he may use more sticks than carrots in dealing with the communist country.

“The next president will need to use intensive diplomacy to move towards a fully denuclearized Korean Peninsula, but cannot make the mistake of assuming that talking is our only tool,” he said. “We cannot be so naive as to think we will convince Kim Jong-il to give up his nuclear weapons, let alone end his horrific treatment of his people by promising that the president of the United States will unconditionally sit down with him to ask what else he wants.”

That was an obvious dig at Democratic rival Barack Obama, who has said he will meet with leaders of countries that oppose the U.S.

McCain also stressed the importance of forging closer ties with regional allies to make his North Korean policies work and praised President Lee Myung-bak’s stern stance on North Korea, which has been drawing ire from Pyongyang.

“Rather, it is through closer cooperation with our closest allies, our strong alliance with the Republic of Korea, closer trilateral coordination with Japan and full use of UN Security Council Resolution 1718 that we can best hope to solve the North Korean challenge,” he said.

“North Korea’s bellicose rhetoric towards Seoul in recent weeks is revealing. It tells us that Pyongyang continues to try to divide the participants in the six-party talks instead of taking steps that would reassure the legitimate concerns that have been raised about the North’s intentions. We support Seoul’s calm and firm response to these efforts. Our priority must be a united front with our democratic allies in confronting the dangers posed by North Korea.”

McCain spent a large part of his column expressing his support for the Korea-U.S. free trade agreement, which has been one of hottest political potatoes in both countries as legislators of the two countries continued their months-long squabbling over its ratification. Both U.S. Democratic Party presidential frontrunners ? senators Hillary Clinton and Obama ? oppose the pact, highlighting the bill would give Korean exporters unfettered access to the U.S. market while a clause in the auto industry left U.S. automakers shorthanded.

“Rather than encouraging American entrepreneurship and competitiveness, they [senators Clinton and Obama] are exploiting unfounded fears about Asia’s economic dynamism and thus retreating from the bipartisan consensus on trade liberalization that has guided America for over 50 years,” he said. “They are putting the protection of special interests before the promotion of the national interest.”

By Jung Ha-won Staff Reporter [hawon@joongang.co.kr]