WSJ praises President Park for 'groundbreaking' message to N. Koreans
President Park Geun-hye's speech on Saturday marking the 68th anniversary of Armed Forces Day... is garnering a positive reaction from the foreign press. In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal praised the president for her message to the North Korean people, encouraging them to take the path to the South... and also listed ways to make her invitation a reality. Song Ji-sun has more. "We will keep the road open for you, the residents of North Korea, to find hope and life. Please come to the bosom of freedom in the Republic of Korea." In an editorial on Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal praised President Park's message to the North Korean people as "a better path to regime change in Pyongyang than empty condemnations or unenforced sanctions." The paper said the defections from the North's elite class reflect growing internal dissent within the regime, and points specifically to the defection in August of its deputy ambassador to the U.K., Thae Yong-ho as an example. It also said that more than half of the defectors are now represented by the North's middle class. "The defections of North Korean residents, who cannot tolerate the regime's tyranny and starvation any longer, are on the rise, as are defections by members of the regime's elite class who have supported the system. Even the North's soldiers now often desert and plunder." The Journal says that a stream of defectors would weaken the regime economically and give the North Korean people an opportunity to know more about the outside world. But in order to, as the paper says, "turn this trickle into a flood," the editorial says it's important to try and get President Park's message through to the North Korean people. It also says Seoul will have to convince Beijing, which apparently wants to ensure the North Korean regime's survival,... to stop sending defectors back North. The Journal also had praise for President Park's decision to close down the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex,... which was ultimately used to fund Pyongyang's weapons development programs,... ending the late President Kim Dae-jung's Sunshine Policy of engagement. The editorial wrapped up by saying the ultimate goal is liberating the North Korean people,... saying, "Let North Koreans vote with their feet for an end to tyranny." Song Ji-sun, Arirang News. Visit ‘Arirang News’ Official Pages Facebook(NEWS): / newsarirang Homepage: http://www.arirang.com Facebook: / arirangtv Twitter: / arirangworld Instagram: / arirangworld
