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cation in his government. Tha t's
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why the North Korea n soldi ers
!
acted so viciously when they a t–
- tacked American soldiers in the no-
torious tree-trimming inciden! in the
demil ita rized zone last year. Two
Americans were hacked to death
with axes.
Wha t else can we expect from ro–
bo t-like human adults? As little chi l–
dren, they had been taught to sing
such songs as, "We will mutila te any
American soldiers we catch today."
SEOUL ' S SKYLINE
reflects booming Sou t h Korean economy.
Yet, despite the day-and-night
differences between the two Koreas,
the re is hardly a peep of human
rights cri ticism of the North's re–
gime emanating from Washington's
highly selective human rights activ–
ists. This puzzles men like Mr. Shin,
who asks: "Why is it tha t they a re
si lent about North Korea, whe re
even a semblance of civil liberties
has long ceased to exist, and are
both nosy and noisy only about
South Korea, where people enjoy
more liberties and human rights
than do the people of most of the
Third World countries? What re–
strictions we might have a re sclf–
imposed because that is the only
way to avoid greater misfortunes.
Another Assemblyman, Mr. Oh
Jung-keun, observed that in this
precarious position the Republic of
Korea simply cannot be expected to
live up to America's high standards
of human rights at this time. Na–
tional security has to be the num–
ber-one priority. There have to be
more controls against subversive
and disruptive elements in the so–
cie ty. Agents of the North a re con–
stantly trying to infi ltra te the South.
Moreover, the picture of life in
South Korea often painted by the
Western press gives a completely
false impression of the true state of
affairs. South Korea, for all intents
and pu rposes, is a free and open
society. Travel within the country is
unrestricted. Few soldiers a re seen
in the streets or at airports. And
speaking of airports, it has been esti–
mated that more foreign visitors
pour through South Korea's Kimpo
Airport in one day than have been
permitted to enter North Korea in
the past decade!
Despite sorne limitations, Korea
still retains all the bas ic elements of
a democratic government - a n
elected presiden!, a plural political
pa rty system, the people's particlpa–
tion in the política! process through
representation, and the division of
power among the executive, legisla–
tive and judicial branches of gov–
ernment. Freedom of press and
speech are also guaranteed to the
maximum that the Korean govern–
ment feels it can afford under the
circumstances.
10
But the si tua tion in the North–
virtually ignorcd in sta tements by
Washington and in the Western
press-is another matter a ltogether.
Above the demilitarized zone, there
a re
no
human rights whatsoever.
North Korea is one of the most bru–
tally regimentcd and repressive po–
lice states in the world. Every aspect
of life in the North is rigidly con–
trolled. Education concentrates on
one principal theme- hatred of the
South and of American " imperial–
ism." (Kim 11-sung once told Harri–
so n Salisbury of th e
New York
Times:
"The most importan!· thing
in our preparation for war is to edu–
cate all the people to hale U.S. im–
perialism.")
Humanita ri an ideals simply are
not taught up north , we were told by
Sou th Korean legisla tor Shin Sang–
cho, who holds the portfolio of edu-
"Why is it that (certain] elemen ts
in the Uni ted Sta tes, who are so
concerned about the human rights
of the Koreans, do not care about
the fate of 35 miUion Koreans who
face a greater risk of a war as a
result of the withdrawal?"
Talking about human rights and
sugges ting troop withdrawal in con–
nection with them-as sorne U.S.
congressmen have done- is a "great
hypocrisy,'' says Mr. Shin.
Not a Question of "One on One"
COLLAPSIBLE OVERPASS
is designed
to impede enemy wartime advance.
For a quarter century, U.S. forces
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have succeeded in keeping the
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peace on the Korean península.
§
Coupled with more than $10 billion
:: in U.S. military and economic aid-
most of it in the form of grants–
America has an enormous stake in
the fu ture of a peaceful Korea.
Why change a winning game
now, South Korean officials ask?
What is the reason for the troop
withdrawal? It can' t be economics,
they say, because it is fa r less ex–
pensive for Washington to main tai p
the troops in Korea than elsewhere,
and cheaper than spending billions
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1977