At the first day of a symposium organized in Washington D.C. by the Chosun Ilbo, the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), and the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), participants from Korea and the United States discussed models of North Korean risk management and diverse proposals for resolving the North Korean nuclear issue and encouraging economic prosperity there.
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Experts on Korean and U.S. affairs hold a hot debate during a seminar on ¡°International Cooperation for the Peaceful Solution of the North Korean Nuclear Crisis¡± organized by the Chosun Ilbo in New York on February 12.
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Participants agreed that at the second round of six-way talks, set to begin in Beijing on February 25, North Korea would have to resolve to change and renounce its nuclear program before there could be increased international cooperation. Neocons, in particular, argued that the North has to make a shocking announcement about giving up developing weapons of mass destruction (WMD), much in the way Libya has done.
One U.S. State Department said his department is working ¡°16 hour days¡± to prepare for the six-way talks.
The AEI¡¯s Nicholas Eberstadt said that the Bush Administration is concentrating its diplomatic efforts on applying international pressure towards North Korea to encourage it to follow the Libyan model. He noted that with revelations about Pakistan¡¯s secret export of nuclear technology, it has become hard for the North to just go on denying it has a highly enriched uranium (HEU) nuclear program.
Yonsei University Professor Moon Chung-in countered this, saying that instead of pushing North Korea, it should be complimented by its neighbors for each small change, to encourage it to truly go in the right direction. ¡°It has to choose it¡¯s own roadmap,¡± he said.
U.S.-Korea relations were a hot topic of discussion. Richard Allen, the former National Security Advisor who carries influence with the U.S. Department of Defense, noted that relations are so poor that one cannot predict what will happen next. Alexandre Mansourov of the Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies said you hear people talking about how the ¡°sunset¡± is setting on the alliance, and shocked participants in saying so.
Allen said that the U.S. government¡¯s decision to reorganize the United States Forces Korea (USFK) in accordance with global plans for reorganization was nevertheless influenced by factors in the relationship such as a recent survey taken in Korea, in which Koreans said they feel the U.S. is a greater threat than North Korea. He said Korea needs to be aware of the American position that it does not want to station troops where they are not welcome.
National Assembly member Yoo Jay-kun of Korea¡¯s de facto ruling Uri Party and Yun Byeong-se of the Korean embassy took the position that while there is static in the relationship, relations will still develop to be more mature and comprehensive.
Chosun Ilbo Reporting Team
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