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US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer
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Democratic Party’s main goal is preventing Trump’s reelection, not solving the North Korean issue
“Carpe diem” – the phrase appeared on the notebook of a American I met recently who identifies with the Democratic Party. This Latin phrase means “seize the day”; it is a reminder to make the most of the present and not to miss the opportunity staring you in the face. This American, who served in Congress for more than 20 years and once held a senior position in the US government, holds an extremely negative view about US President Donald Trump’s domestic policies. He told me in no uncertain terms that Trump must not, and will not, be reelected. Even so, this American said that Trump’s summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore on June 12 “could be an opportunity.” This was the conclusion that he reached after a long discussion about the high tensions that return to the Korean Peninsula each year, the rumors of war last year and the South Korean government’s efforts to arrange a summit between North Korea and the US. Frankly speaking, there are few Americans like this man among the Democratic Party. There is deep-seated opposition – and even hostility – to Trump among Democrats. Some experts even showed their disappointment about South Korean President Moon Jae-in’s remark that Trump should receive the Nobel Peace Prize if he fixes the North Korean nuclear issue. The paramount concern for such people is not so much resolving the North Korean nuclear issue as domestic politics – that is to say, lowering Trump’s approval rating and preventing his reelection. The position of the Democratic Party is that if they cannot take control of the House of Representatives in the midterm elections this November, they will find themselves at a considerable disadvantage during the presidential election in 2020. Since political power is in the balance and North Korea is not very trustworthy to begin with, they are unlikely to pay much heed to the situation on the Korean Peninsula. Democrats find it “terrible to contemplate President Trump making progress” “From the point of view of the Democrats, it’s terrible to contemplate President Trump making progress on resolving the North Korean nuclear issue,” said a source in Washington who is familiar with the situation in Congress. Considering that the North Korean nuclear issue went from bad to worse during the eight years that Barack Obama was president, it would be a crushing blow for the Democratic Party’s pride if the issue could be fixed by Trump, who the Democrats do not regard as even being fit to be president. The letter sent by Senate Minority leader Chuck Schumer and other leaders of the Democratic Party on June 4 to Trump outlining “five principles” for a deal with North Korea also appears to reflect undercurrents in the Democratic Party. These principles – which include shutting down and abandoning all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons; halting the enrichment and reprocessing of uranium and plutonium and dismantling nuclear facilities; and guaranteeing the permanence of the agreement – are much the same as demands made by hardliners inside the US government and by the Republican Party in the past. There are some who question linking a solution to the North Korean nuclear issue with Trump’s political fortunes. “The prediction that solving the North Korean nuclear issue will help Trump out with his approval rating reflects a Korea-focused mindset. This doesn’t have the impact of domestic issues,” said an analyst at a think tank in Washington. Why Koreans should be paying attention to events in US Congress Even so, the Democratic Party’s politicization of the North Korean nuclear talks and its widening divide with Trump is something that Koreans should be paying attention to. If the Democrats function as an effective check on Trump, it could help prevent him from making an impulsive move. It is undeniable that Trump’s “unpredictability” remains a challenging factor for us. But if the Democratic Party exploits its position to push Trump into a political corner, this would obviously undermine the momentum to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue. It could even lead to a situation where Trump goes back on his promises, acting as if he had never made them.
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Yi Yong-in, Washington correspondent
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