If Kim Jong-un Fools About Denuclearization Commitment, the Price to Pay Will Be High
(Baonghean.vn) - Previous efforts to denuclearize North Korea have ended without any significant results. From the Agreed Framework of 1994 to the Leap Day Agreement of 2012, past negotiations have failed due to mistrust and ultimately allowed Pyongyang to declare itself a full-fledged nuclear power.
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There are still many doubts surrounding the success or failure of the first US-North Korea summit in Singapore. Photo: Getty |
There are still many doubts surrounding the success or failure of the first-ever US-North Korea summit in Singapore. Despite the historic significance of the event, doubts remain about whether North Korea will give up its nuclear weapons, which it sees as the ultimate guarantee of its regime’s survival.
However, Lee Jong-seok, who closely followed inter-Korean relations under the administration of South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, has a different view, saying that Kim Jong-un's commitment to denuclearization appears more sincere than that of his predecessors.
“If Kim Jong-un is just trying to fool around without making any commitment to denuclearization, he is playing a really dangerous game. It will backfire,” said Lee Jong-seok, who is now an adviser to President Moon Jae-in on inter-Korean relations.
This expert said that the North Korean leader has taken a series of steps to make his commitment to denuclearization irreversible, and such a message is sent not only to relevant parties but also to the people in the country.
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| Mr. Lee Jong-seok, currently an advisor to President Moon Jae-in on inter-Korean relations. Photo: AP |
According to Mr. Lee, the reason Mr. Kim Jong-un is sincere about denuclearization may be because he wants to turn his impoverished country into “an economically prosperous nation” — an outcome that can only be achieved by lifting economic sanctions in exchange for Pyongyang giving up its nuclear arsenal.
However, this expert affirmed that we should not set too high expectations for this summit, because this could send a bad signal to North Korea, causing Kim Jong-un to doubt the US's motives and leading to Pyongyang returning to the path of isolation as before.
Mr. Lee proposed measures that North Korea could agree to immediately implement, namely declaring a list of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles, and shipping them out of North Korea by the end of this year.
In return, the US will compensate North Korea with “irreversible measures” in the form of security, political and economic guarantees, such as officially declaring the end of the Korean War, establishing diplomatic relations and lifting economic sanctions./.
