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US Scholar Jared Diamond Suggests South Korea Stop Publicly Criticizing North Korea for Peace

evening · · thread: President Lee and Unification Minister Outline New North Korea Policy Amid Domestic Criticism

2 sources · South Korea · 1 of them is linked to a state

Who reported this

  • Yonhap South Korea · Centre · State-affiliated · Cooperative; statutory national agency with state subsidy
  • The Korea Herald South Korea · Centre-right · Herald Corporation (Yeongpoong Group)

What the colours mean

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  • Centre-left
  • Centre
  • Centre-right
  • Right
  • A hatched block means the outlet is affiliated with, or controlled by, a state.

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Every source for this story reports from South Korea.

Jared Diamond, a renowned US scholar and author of Guns, Germs and Steel, suggested on Thursday that South Korea should refrain from publicly bad mouthing North Korea to achieve peaceful coexistence. Speaking at a forum in Seoul, Diamond cited the example of Finland, which he said avoided criticizing Russia for over 80 years to ensure its own security. He noted that Finland made the unthinkable choice as a democratic nation to ask its press to refrain from criticizing Russia because its survival depended on maintaining friendly relations after being invaded in 1939.

Diamond proposed that South Korea hold private discussions with North Korea regarding shared challenges. These areas of cooperation could include climate change, agriculture, aquaculture, and the management of invasive species. He suggested that these initial talks be conducted without public announcements to build trust and identify areas of mutual usefulness. Diamond emphasized that the decision to maintain peaceful relations ultimately rests with South Korea.

How each side framed it

Centre
The center leaning outlet presented the scholar's suggestions as a straightforward report on a diplomatic proposal.
Centre-right
The center right leaning outlet provided a nearly identical account of the event, focusing on the scholar's specific recommendations.

Sources

100% of the statements in this article were traced back to the source articles listed above.