{"id":2196009,"date":"2022-05-06T18:57:32","date_gmt":"2022-05-06T09:57:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/pro\/?p=2196009"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:12:25","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:12:25","slug":"as-seoul-joins-nato-cyber-group-chinese-propagandist-threatens-ukraine-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/05\/as-seoul-joins-nato-cyber-group-chinese-propagandist-threatens-ukraine-path\/","title":{"rendered":"As Seoul joins NATO cyber group, Chinese propagandist threatens Ukraine \u2018path\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
A former editor at China’s state-run <\/span>Global Times<\/span><\/i> tabloid appeared to threaten South Korea with a “path” like Ukraine, an ominous sign for ROK-China relations as Seoul prepares for a new president next week.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The message was in response to South Korea becoming the first Asian country to join <\/span>NATO\u2019s<\/span><\/a> Cooperative Cyber Defense Centre of Excellence (CCDCOE).<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIf South Korea takes a path of turning hostile against its neighbors, the end of this path could be a Ukraine,\u201d tweeted Hu Xijin <\/span>on Thursday<\/span><\/a>. Russia, Ukraine\u2019s much larger neighbor, invaded the country in February after Moscow accused Kyiv of, among other things, turning hostile towards its neighbors.<\/span><\/p>\n Hu is China\u2019s \u201cbest-known propagandist on the global stage\u201d according to <\/span>Reuters<\/span><\/i><\/a>, and his formerly high standing at the <\/span>Global Times<\/span><\/i>, owned and operated by the Chinese Communist Party, <\/span>suggests<\/span><\/a> his statements have a degree of official sanction.<\/span><\/p>\n The warning for incoming South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol is obvious: Get too close to NATO and feel China\u2019s wrath.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s not clear whether Hu is suggesting China, South Korea\u2019s much larger neighbor to the west, is prepared to invade the Korean Peninsula if Seoul joins international organizations Xi Jinping doesn\u2019t like. But even if this were contemplated in Beijing, the only parallel between China and South Korea that fits Russia and Ukraine is that one country is quite a bit larger than the other.<\/span><\/p>\n South Korea has a mutual defense treaty with the U.S., and there are 28,500 U.S. troops stationed on the peninsula \u2013 backed up by thousands more in Japan. Over a dozen other countries support United Nations Command on the peninsula.<\/span><\/p>\n Further, the incoming Yoon administration has <\/span>asked<\/span><\/a> for more U.S. strategic assets in and around South Korea. Washington would be much more likely to consider this option if it appeared China had imperial ambitions in the region.<\/span><\/p>\n South Korea itself boasts the sixth <\/span>most powerful<\/span><\/a> military in the world by one metric and has a rapidly growing and sophisticated arms industry. To put things in perspective, Ukraine\u2019s military is the twenty-second most powerful, and it\u2019s giving the Russian military – the second most powerful – a run for its money.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In other words, Hu Xijin\u2019s threat is an empty one. But it will be sure to torpedo South Korean public opinion about China, which has already reached <\/span>historic lows<\/span><\/a> this year.<\/span><\/p>\n Edited by Arius Derr<\/em><\/p>\n