[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Yoon Sang-hyun, a member of the People Power Party and former chairman of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee, criticized former National Diplomatic Academy President Kim Jun-hyung's assessment of the Korea-US-Japan Phnom Penh Statement as "chilling," saying, "I would believe it even if it were said by the president of China's National Diplomatic Academy."
On the 14th, Yoon said on his social network service (SNS), "(Former President Kim) said that in the Phnom Penh Statement, Korea sided with the US and that 'Korea has become the US's assault squad.' Is he disappointed that we are not China's assault squad?"
Kim Jun-hyung, who served as president of the National Diplomatic Academy during the Moon Jae-in administration, appeared on CBS Radio's "Kim Hyun-jung's News Show" that morning and said, "We have been assigned the mission to persuade ASEAN countries to reduce the burden on the US, and to put it harshly, we could become an assault squad," evaluating the Phnom Penh Statement as "chilling."
In response, Yoon criticized, "(Former President Kim's) words mean that the Korea-US-Japan Indo-Pacific strategy is a strategy that excludes China, Russia, and North Korea, which is bad for our country. He also said that if we emphasize the values of freedom, democracy, and human rights too much, it means excluding countries that do not uphold these values. This is truly a chilling statement."
He added, "It's at a level where I would believe these words came not from a former president of the Republic of Korea's National Diplomatic Academy but from the president of China's National Diplomatic Academy. It wouldn't be surprising if he were an advisor to Xi Jinping rather than to Moon Jae-in," and said, "The most chilling thing is that until recently, we entrusted the fate of the Republic of Korea to people with such perceptions."
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