Specter of another Yalta overstated
The specter of the Yalta Conference is haunting Korea as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit approaches. Such concerns reflect either a victim mentality or diplomatic overstatement. During a recent meeting with a Chinese official, a high-ranking South Korean official reportedly expressed concern that an upcoming trilateral summit among the U.S., China and Russia, to be held on the…
The specter of a repeat of the Yalta Conference looms large as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit approaches. However, this concern might be driven by a sense of victimhood or an overblown diplomatic narrative. During a recent encounter with a Chinese official, a senior South Korean representative reportedly voiced apprehension that a planned trilateral summit involving the U.S., China, and Russia, scheduled as a side event to the APEC summit, should not resemble the infamous Yalta Conference.
The original Yalta talks, held in 1945, saw the so-called Big Three world powers - the U.S., the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union - agree to place the then-Japanese-controlled Korea under a multilateral trusteeship before granting it full independence. Unfortunately, this arrangement led to Korea's division into two separate entities, with the South administered by the U.S. and the North by the Soviet Union, with no input from the Korean people themselves.
At the time of writing, a foreign ministry official was reportedly making preparations for the upcoming summit.
Written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
