Balancing act – Gates and Clinton, Defense and State in S. Korea

by YankeeJim | July 21, 2010 at 03:37 am

72 views | 1 Recommendation | 0 comments

This is a significant show of unity and force to have two senior cabinet officials in S. Korea at the same time. If you have never visited South Korea, it is vibrant. The people are hard working and hard playing. The culture and history is deep. The enemy is just around the corner.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/20/AR2010072000868.html?wpisrc=nl_headline

“Cabinet secretaries Clinton, Gates visit DMZ in show of support for South Korea

South Korean Army soldiers walk by a signboard showing distances to North Korea's capital Pyongyang and that for South's capital Seoul at the Imjingang railway station in Paju, near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) of Panmunjom, South Korea, Thursday, July 15, 2010. Military officers from North Korea and the American-led U.N. Command met Thursday for talks on the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship that has been blamed on Pyongyang. The letters on the top read " Imjingang". (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) (Ahn Young-joon - AP)

A South Korean tourist looks to the North through a pair of binoculars at the Imjingak Pavilion in Paju, near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) of Panmunjom, South Korea, Thursday, July 15, 2010. Military officers from North Korea and the American-led U.N. Command met Thursday for talks on the deadly sinking of a South Korean warship that has been blamed on Pyongyang. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon) (Ahn Young-joon - AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, second from left, South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, left, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, second from right, and South Korean Defense Minister Kim Tae-young pose for the media at the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas since the Korean War, north of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 21, 2010. Standing at the spot that divides North and South Korea, Clinton urged North Korea on Wednesday to turn away from the isolation that has left its people suffering. (AP Photo/Korea Pool) (AP)

A North Korean soldier observes the South at the truce village of Panmunjom in the demilitarized zone (DMZ) that separates the two Koreas since the Korean War, north of Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, July 14, 2010. Talks between North Korea and the American-led U.N. Command have been rescheduled for Thursday after Pyongyang abruptly canceled a meeting meant to discuss the sinking of a South Korean warship blamed on Pyongyang. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man) (Lee Jin-man - AP)”