Taeyoungho "Yoon 'Rising Sun Flag Salute' Report, Wrong Camera Position"

Former North Korean diplomat and People Power Party lawmaker Tae Young-ho criticized the controversy over President Yoon Suk-yeol's "Rising Sun Flag salute," saying, "The report was incorrect. Because the camera was placed on the left side, only the Rising Sun Flag was visible."

On the 17th, Tae said on YTN's "News King Park Ji-hoon" program, "It’s not just the Rising Sun Flag. The Taegeukgi was also there. The president bowed his head in encouragement in front of it, which is a common practice among all countries."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In a report the previous day, controversy arose claiming that President Yoon saluted the Rising Sun Flag, but in reality, it was a camera angle issue that only showed the Rising Sun Flag, and the Taegeukgi was also present behind it.

Tae said, "Looking at the image captured by the camera, the Taegeukgi is not visible, only the Rising Sun Flag is. So it appears as if the president saluted the Rising Sun Flag, but in fact, the camera was positioned incorrectly. The Rising Sun Flag and the Taegeukgi should have been shown front and center, so the report that the president saluted the Rising Sun Flag is a very incorrect report."

He viewed the restoration of the Japan-South Korea General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) positively. He said, "It’s a very important issue," and added, "Yesterday, North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) that flew not for 7 minutes but for 70 minutes. Its altitude was 6,000. We are more accurate in the initial flight phase of the launch, but in the final phase of the flight, Japan observes more accurately."

He continued, "To accurately determine the final launch point, we need to share real-time information with Japan," and expressed concern, saying, "If by any chance a North Korean missile fell and hit a Japanese aircraft, our aircraft, or a ship, causing significant casualties, that would be the worst-case scenario. But if Japan struck the missile’s launch point immediately without any agreement with us or information sharing with the U.S., what would happen?"

He emphasized that GSOMIA is necessary to reduce the possibility of accidental war. When asked by the host about the possibility of Japan launching a preemptive strike against North Korea, he said, "North Korea, China, and Russia have formed a trilateral nuclear military alliance, and if Japan tries to check this by attacking North Korea, China, which has a military alliance with North Korea, will not stand idly by. This would be a war Japan cannot fight alone. Because the three countries, South Korea, the U.S., and Japan, must cooperate, the idea that Japan would ignore both South Korea and the U.S. and jump into a war alone, as some think, is not going to happen?not even like during World War II."