Defense Ministry Responds to Attempts to Give Away Korean Territory

The Korean Defense Ministry is obviously furious at the anti-Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung’s comments about redrawing the Northern Limit Line with North Korea:

“In light of the upcoming inter-Korean summit, it is not desirable that the Defense Ministry and Unification Ministry should show signs of friction,” said Kim Hyung-gi, the Defense Ministry’s spokesman, yesterday. “The debate [on the sea border] should stop.”
There has been tension between the two ministries ever since Unification Minister Lee Jae-joung’s recent comment that the Northern Limit Line, the border drawn at the end of the Korean War to separate the two countries in the Yellow Sea, is not considered “territory.”
Lee also said the South needed to “reconsider” the reason that a 2002 sea battle was fought after a North Korean patrol boat crossed the line into South Korean waters.
Sources said that Defense Minister Kim Jang-soo on Tuesday told the National Assembly’s Defense Committee that the military would “not give up the Northern Limit Line.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]

This is what the Unification Ministry said in response:

Hong Ik-pyo, a policy adviser to the unification minister, said yesterday that he “could not agree that even a slight change in the Northern Limit Line would cause a serious threat to national security.”
He posted his comments on a message board of the Government Information Agency, arguing that there was nothing wrong with discussing the matter with the North. [Joong Ang Ilbo]

This is how the Defense Ministry responded after this statement:

A senior Defense Ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the military is outraged. “Granted, he [the unification minister] is a civilian and may not know the significance of what he said from a military standpoint. Still, it’s something he should not have said. It was unacceptable.”
Kim Dong-jin, a defense minister in the late 90s and a member of the Korean Retired Generals and Admirals Association, didn’t hide his disgust. “I am speechless. What he said is not even worth commenting on,” said Kim. “It’s just not worth it.”
The issue is growing into a major talking point in political circles. GNP lawmaker Chung Hyung-kun argued yesterday that the summit “was delayed because they failed to agree on the NLL issue as an agenda in the talks, not because of severe flood damage.” The party’s spokeswoman Na Kyung-won said yesterday, “Concession to North Korea over the NLL is tantamount to an act of treachery, like giving away Dokdo to Japan.” [Joong Ang Ilbo]

I would love to hear if the Unification Ministry would be willing to give Dokdo to North Korea if they demanded it.  That would solve the whole stupid Dokdo controversy at least. 

It is unbelievable that the Unification Ministry is willing to give up sovereign Korean territory that ROK military personnel have lost their lives defending and the Unification Ministry didn’t even bother consulting the military about what the national security consequences of such actions would be.  Than again these are the same people who treat these dead ROK military personnel as if they are criminals for defending their home land.  If the Unification Ministry pushes on with changing the NLL, USFK may need to get involved because the DMZ and the NLL were established by the UN at the conclusion of the Korean War.  It will be interesting to see if USFK will be willing to approve of such a change that would have national security consequences on the peninsula, especially when the ROK military does not agree with it.