Chill in the Korean Peninsula Over Downed KAL Jetliner

In a recent article (“Despite an Air of Mystery, Downing of Korean Jetliner Puts a Chill on Peninsula,” Op-Ed Page, Feb. 11, Prof. Bruce Cumings managed to distort the North Korean terrorist mid-air bombing of a Korean Air jetliner on Nov. 29 with the loss of 115 lives. In doing so, he made contentions which were so inaccurate and misleading as to demand correction.

Cumings claims that “past practice by South Korean authorities make it impossible for an independent observer to trust” the investigation by Korean authorities and implies that its conclusions rested on the confession of Kim Hyon-hui, a North Korean agent who participated in the bombing.

However, the Korean investigation did not rest solely on Miss Kim’s confession, which was voluntary and not the result of coercion, according to reliable reports. When Bahrain authorities returned Miss Kim to Korea after her unsuccessful suicide attempt, they also sent all the physical evidence that had been uncovered by their investigation, which comprised a significant element in the investigation. Even without a confession, these revelations revealed convincing evidence leading over 60 nations to admonish North Korea for the bombings. In addition, the Korean government has offered to conduct a joint investigation of the bombing with any country desiring it and to permit interviews with Miss Kim.

U.S. Ambassador Clayton McManaway, a State Department counter-terrorism expert, produced additional evidence verifying Miss Kim’s terrorist role and stated before a congressional hearing, “We have no doubt that North Korea is responsible for this act of mass murder.”

It appears that Cumings accepts North Korea’s denial of involvement because if it were responsible, “It is a sharp departure from previous behavior.” He notes that “Pyongyang has never before targeted innocent civilians, its terrorist actions having been designed to remove South Korean leaders.” Does he really condone terrorism if the killings are directed at “removing” government leaders?

In regard to previous behavior, historian Cumings does not seem to have a very good grasp of historical facts. Since the 1953 armistice, North Korean terrorism has been responsible for the deaths of 17 people, including two journalists in the Burma bombings in 1983, the ax murders of two American Army officers at the Demilitarized Zone in 1976, the unsuccessful attack by 31 North Koreans on President Park in 1968 and the killing of five civilians and a policeman, the death of 70 civilians and soldiers in the city of Ulchin on the east coast in 1968, and the abduction of hundreds of Korean fishermen captured on the high seas. Space precludes a longer list.

Cumings states that “Seoul’s policy all along has been to isolate Pyongyang as much as possible during the Olympics.” But in this regard he overlooked the fact that South Korea and the International Olympic Committee have offered North Korea part or all of five Olympic events. North Korea, which did not bid for the games, has demanded eight events and billing as co-host, while refusing to allow free movement of athletes and spectators across the border.

Cumings bemoans the “chill” put on recent efforts to establish a dialogue between the two Koreas as a result of South Korea’s fingering the North as the bombing culprit.

On Feb. 15, President Roh Tae Woo said that Korea is ready to hold talks with North Korea despite the North Korean atrocity. Foreign Minister Choi Kwang-Soo told the U.N. Security Council that South Korea will continue to pursue a firm policy of dialogue and peace, adding, “The gates are still open to North Korea’s participation in the upcoming Olympics.”

From my point of view, this is a remarkable display of restraint on the part of South Korean in the face of extreme provocation.

KENNETH J. GELMS

Big Bear Lake