Reagan refused to support Korean constitution in 1985: dossier
时间:2024-09-23 09:35:08 来源:玉林新闻
Then U.S. President Ronald Reagan refused to express public support for South Korea's constitution in 1985 due to concerns over public backlash at home, declassified diplomatic documents showed Sunday.
South Korea's then president, Chun Doo-hwan, wanted Reagan to back the country's constitution as public calls grew here for an amendment that would allow direct presidential elections to take place, according to the documents released by Seoul's Foreign Ministry.
Chun, a former army general, took power in 1981 in the political turmoil that followed the 1979 assassination of then President Park Chung-hee. A constitutional revision led to the establishment of the Chun government.
Ahead of Chun's visit to Washington in April 1985, Seoul demanded the U.S. express its support for the South Korean constitution in press remarks to be released after the leaders' summit. Washington balked at the demand, even after Chun made a personal request to the U.S. ambassador to Seoul, the documents showed.
The two sides continued to wrangle over the issue until the eve of the summit on April 25, but Washington eventually rejected the request, citing concerns that any remark by Reagan could be interpreted as interference in South Korea's internal politics.
U.S. public opinion at the time was unfavorable toward the repressive rule of Chun's junta.
In the final press remarks, Reagan made no mention of the constitution and instead expressed support for all measures conducive to South Korea's political development and Chun's commitment to a peaceful transfer of power at the end of his single seven year term in office.
The dossier also showed that the general-turned-president was wary of an improvement in ties between North Korea and Japan even as the South pushed for talks with the communist neighbor.
In January 1985, Chun ordered his senior secretaries to keep a close watch on Japan's relations with the North to ensure that the warming ties between South Korea and Japan were not undermined by Tokyo drawing closer to Pyongyang.
He stressed that Seoul continued to hold talks with Pyongyang despite the latter's ulterior motive to communize the South only because dialogue is the best way to prevent the recurrence of war on the Korean Peninsula, ease the North's hostility toward the South, and show North Korean officials the actual state of affairs in the South.
At Chun's orders, the then foreign minister sent an official letter to the South Korean ambassador to Tokyo, ordering him to stop the Japanese government from allowing a visit to the country by officials from the North's main newspaper Rodong Sinmun and an association promoting friendly ties between the North and Japan.
The director-general of the Japanese foreign ministry's Asian affairs bureau told a South Korean embassy minister at the time that even if the Japanese government were to allow the visit, it would not mean a change in Tokyo's policy towards the North.
Still, the North Korean officials visited Japan that year.
In 1984, Chun also raised allegations that North Korea was plotting to drive a wedge between the South and Japan by exaggerating the issue of Japanese history textbooks.
Four months before the Japanese government released the results of its review of high school history textbooks, Chun sent a handwritten document to the foreign ministry, saying the North is suspected of using its supporters in Japan to damage South Korea-Japan ties.
He also urged South Korean media not to fall into that trap.
In June 1984, Tokyo released the results of its textbook review, which revealed that six out of eight textbooks described Japan's invasion of the Korean Peninsula as an "expansion" and carried other historical distortions.
However, Seoul's foreign ministry said the textbooks appeared to reflect many of the corrections it demanded and asking for any further corrections could be interpreted as interference in internal affairs.
It also said the issue shouldn't be dealt with emotionally but approached carefully so as to avoid North Korea's scheme to cause a rift between Seoul and Tokyo. (Yonhap)
South Korea's then president, Chun Doo-hwan, wanted Reagan to back the country's constitution as public calls grew here for an amendment that would allow direct presidential elections to take place, according to the documents released by Seoul's Foreign Ministry.
Chun, a former army general, took power in 1981 in the political turmoil that followed the 1979 assassination of then President Park Chung-hee. A constitutional revision led to the establishment of the Chun government.
Ahead of Chun's visit to Washington in April 1985, Seoul demanded the U.S. express its support for the South Korean constitution in press remarks to be released after the leaders' summit. Washington balked at the demand, even after Chun made a personal request to the U.S. ambassador to Seoul, the documents showed.
The two sides continued to wrangle over the issue until the eve of the summit on April 25, but Washington eventually rejected the request, citing concerns that any remark by Reagan could be interpreted as interference in South Korea's internal politics.
U.S. public opinion at the time was unfavorable toward the repressive rule of Chun's junta.
In the final press remarks, Reagan made no mention of the constitution and instead expressed support for all measures conducive to South Korea's political development and Chun's commitment to a peaceful transfer of power at the end of his single seven year term in office.
The dossier also showed that the general-turned-president was wary of an improvement in ties between North Korea and Japan even as the South pushed for talks with the communist neighbor.
In January 1985, Chun ordered his senior secretaries to keep a close watch on Japan's relations with the North to ensure that the warming ties between South Korea and Japan were not undermined by Tokyo drawing closer to Pyongyang.
He stressed that Seoul continued to hold talks with Pyongyang despite the latter's ulterior motive to communize the South only because dialogue is the best way to prevent the recurrence of war on the Korean Peninsula, ease the North's hostility toward the South, and show North Korean officials the actual state of affairs in the South.
At Chun's orders, the then foreign minister sent an official letter to the South Korean ambassador to Tokyo, ordering him to stop the Japanese government from allowing a visit to the country by officials from the North's main newspaper Rodong Sinmun and an association promoting friendly ties between the North and Japan.
The director-general of the Japanese foreign ministry's Asian affairs bureau told a South Korean embassy minister at the time that even if the Japanese government were to allow the visit, it would not mean a change in Tokyo's policy towards the North.
Still, the North Korean officials visited Japan that year.
In 1984, Chun also raised allegations that North Korea was plotting to drive a wedge between the South and Japan by exaggerating the issue of Japanese history textbooks.
Four months before the Japanese government released the results of its review of high school history textbooks, Chun sent a handwritten document to the foreign ministry, saying the North is suspected of using its supporters in Japan to damage South Korea-Japan ties.
He also urged South Korean media not to fall into that trap.
In June 1984, Tokyo released the results of its textbook review, which revealed that six out of eight textbooks described Japan's invasion of the Korean Peninsula as an "expansion" and carried other historical distortions.
However, Seoul's foreign ministry said the textbooks appeared to reflect many of the corrections it demanded and asking for any further corrections could be interpreted as interference in internal affairs.
It also said the issue shouldn't be dealt with emotionally but approached carefully so as to avoid North Korea's scheme to cause a rift between Seoul and Tokyo. (Yonhap)
-
Webb scientists haven't found a rocky world with air. But now they have a plan.精彩对决!红荔奖营销推广类赛道20强名单公布国省干线有管制 景区道路会打挤市食药监局:推动食药安全社会共治护航发展Washington Mystics vs. Chicago Sky 2024 livestream: Watch live WNBA第20届“东博会”落幕,广东农产品成为东盟国家采购商“心头好”如果选“国花”,你支持哪种花卉?暴雨过后迎来高温天气 注意预防传染病I Deleted All My Social Accounts: Three Weeks Without Social Media一年内这里第四次发现野生大熊猫
相关内容
- ·Republicans on abortion
- ·基础设施上档次 文化艺术惠民生
- ·我市灾后重建最大产业项目建设有序进行
- ·国省干线有管制 景区道路会打挤
- ·The Wonderful World of Christmas Trees
- ·一年内这里第四次发现野生大熊猫
- ·从白天嗨到晚上,主题展示、逛展购物、农事体验享不停!
- ·丰收之夜,巅峰对决!9月23日晚,#广东乡村歌手大赛 全省首场赛区决赛来了,#肇庆赛区 总决赛正式打响!#高要HELLO不夜城
- ·Is Mercury retrograde messing with you? Think again.
- ·河源紫金3人晋级,获奖“丰收大礼包”
- ·青年干警下基层 服务群众暖心窝
- ·精彩对决!红荔奖营销推广类赛道20强名单公布
- ·21 Unexpected Wonders in Colorado’s Vibrant Cities and Small Towns
- ·亮点剧透!相约秋分,来揭阳市揭西县欢庆丰收
- ·央视《寻宝》专家到茶马古城帮你鉴定
- ·道路宽敞 店面清爽 秩序井然
最新内容
- ·全国土壤普查办抽验组到广东开展土壤普查质量抽验
- ·4日晚起全市普降大雨
- ·广东省农科院蔬菜所被授予“广州市科普工作优秀单位”
- ·国省干线有管制 景区道路会打挤
- ·New image shows the North Star is changing. And it has spots.
- ·本网成功直播第二届熊猫电影周开幕式
- ·《保安走上电商路》首播获赞
- ·万人渔乐,瑶排丰收|清远连南举行第九届瑶排梯田稻田鱼文化系列活动
- ·Listeners encouraged to go wild with Le Sserafim's 4th EP
- ·亚贵红“卤味天团”征服杨凌农高会,美食盛宴根本停不下来!
推荐内容
热点内容
- ·25 Years Later: A Brief Analysis of GPU Processing Efficiency
- ·雅安市“中国传统村落”巡礼
- ·我市灾后重建最大产业项目建设有序进行
- ·揽千万大单!阳江顺欣渔业在“东博会”获广西采购商青睐
- ·应对高温 户外驿站送清凉
- ·展现政法干警服务重建风采
- ·最高奖励10万元!江门市人力资源服务机构引进产业人才绩效评估工作开始了
- ·融入成渝城市群“朋友圈”
- ·When will Trump and Harris debate? The presidential campaigns snipe over ABC News’ rules.
- ·情暖童心 关爱成长