Clinton Gazes Into Cold War Legacy at DMZ

President Clinton marked the final stage of a six-day visit to Asia today with a tour of the world’s most dramatic remaining Cold War vista--the Korean demilitarized zone.

From the giant Yong San Army Garrison--the American military headquarters in southern Seoul--Clinton traveled north by motorcade in heavy rain over the fortified 40-mile stretch of territory that separates the South Korean capital from this base, which is roughly 1 1/2 miles from the border with North Korea.

From here, Clinton, accompanied by Gen. Gary Luck, the commander of U.S. forces in Korea, and trailed by Secretary of Defense Les Aspin, Secretary of State Warren Christopher and assorted other officials, traveled in a motorcade of 12 military Humvees--the maximum number of vehicles allowed in the DMZ at one time under the terms of the Korean armistice agreement--to Observation Post Ouellette. The post, a forward lookout station located a stone’s throw from the barbed wire fences of the border, is on a small finger of South Korean territory surrounded on three sides by North Korean territory.

“Someday, this will all be one country again,” Clinton said, speaking to soldiers at the outpost as they stared out along the border with North Korea.

Earlier in the day at the Yong San Army Garrison, Clinton shook hands with more than 200 family members of American service personnel. Several people in the crowd shouted out messages of encouragement. “Glad you’re here,” one of them said. “Great job, hang in there,” said another.

As he bade farewell to South Korean President Kim Young Sam, Clinton, looking fatigued with deep bags beneath his eyes, praised the vibrancy of South Korea’s democracy and said he was traveling to the DMZ because “I want to reinforce the message” of his speech to the South Korean National Assembly that the United States is committed to remaining in Korea.

Asked why he felt the message needs reinforcing at this time, Clinton said that the North Koreans are “not fully in compliance” with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and “they need to move in that direction.”

At the DMZ, Clinton was surrounded by vivid reminders of frontier tension. Camp Bonifas, for example, is named for Capt. Arthur Bonifas, a U.S. officer on duty in the DMZ who was axed to death by North Korean soldiers in 1976 while cutting trees near the so-called Bridge of No Return that crosses the border.

After visiting the lookout post, Clinton traveled to the bridge and spoke with soldiers on guard there.

“I think anyone who sees this will know how important it is for us to stay strong on the issue of North Korea,” Clinton said. “. . . And I think anyone who sees this would be proud of these young men in uniform.”

Clinton’s visit to the DMZ was in sharp contrast to his focus of the last several days, when his attention was largely directed to economics and the financial and trade links between the United States and Asia. In South Korea, however, Clinton shifted attention to the other major aspect of U.S. policy in this part of the world--military security.

White House aides had planned the trip--only the second by a sitting President--to underscore the same sort of vivid symbol of U.S. resolve to remain engaged in Korea, as did Ronald Reagan in his 1983 visit.

In his speech Saturday afternoon to the South Korean National Assembly, Clinton stressed U.S. determination to maintain military forces here, and he has sought every opportunity to repeat the message. North Korea’s threats to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the possibility that the country’s Communist government might develop nuclear weapons has sharply heightened tensions here, which had seemed to be easing recently.

But unlike Reagan, Clinton also faces the need to send a second sort of symbolic message, this one to the U.S. military. White House officials are keenly aware of the continuing doubts and mistrust Clinton faces from many in the military, and from many civilians, who question his ability to handle military matters.

Clinton aides carefully planned the trip to maximize the amount of time Clinton would spend visibly in the company of soldiers and Marines, eschewing some DMZ sights normally on the VIP itinerary, such as the Panmunjom truce village.

“People will see this as another example of his interacting with troops,” a White House official said hopefully.

But the trip also underscored something else as well--that the Clinton White House, for all its desire to manipulate the President’s image, has not yet achieved the Reagan team’s mastery of that art.

White House aides, for example, were well aware that the photograph of Reagan leaning into a wall of sandbags at a DMZ lookout post and peering across the border through binoculars became one of the enduring images of Reagan’s presidency.

With that in mind, Clinton’s aides planned a setting for their man they insisted would be better than Reagan’s. But schedulers set up the visit at an hour that made using the picture promptly all but impossible for most American newspapers and TV networks.

Last Cold War Front

President Clinton is the first U.S. President to visit Panmunjom, the last Cold War front. Panmunjom is located in the middle of the demilitarized zone (DMZ) on the border of North and South Korea.

Although the President will not be meeting personally with the North Koreans, he will tour the site where negotiations between the north and south are held.

Panmunjom: Located in the middle of the DMZ, Panmunjom is the site of the 1953 signing of the armistice agreement between North and South Korea.

72-hour Bridge: Built in 1976 by North Korea after it was denied use of South Korea’s “Bridge of No Return” where it was accused of killing two U.S. soldiers.

Bridge of No Return: Site of 1953 prisoner exchange between North and South Korea.

A Brief History

Aug. 15, 1945: Liberated from 35 years of Japanese rule and divided into north and south.

1948: North Korea becomes Communist.

1950: North Korea invades South Korea, triggering a bitter three-year civil war.

1953: Korean War ends and demilitarized zone is established.

1988: Summer Olympic Games are held in Seoul. North Korea boycotts games.

1991-92: Koreans hold talks on easing tensions. North Korea later calls off talks to protest military exercises.