Key U.S. officials in charge of North Korean affairs are curious what will happen when leader Kim Jong-il is gone. On condition of anonymity, White House and state and defense department officials candidly talked with Chosun Ilbo journalist Kang Chol-hwan and other North Korean refugees about the future of the Stalinist country and six-party nuclear negotiations. Kang in 2005 met with U.S. President George W. Bush to tell him about human rights violations in the North. He and his fellow North Korean defectors were in the U.S. for North Korea Freedom Week, an event raising awareness of the North’s rights violations, in Washington from April 23.

◆ What will happen if the North Korean leader dies?

On April 24, senior Defense Department officials asked the defectors how the North Korean regime could collapse, and what would happen if North Korean leader Kim Jong-il dies. They were curious whether North Korea would adopt a collective leadership if its current absolute leader dies, as the former Soviet Union did after Josef Stalin’s death without experiencing tangible political unrest. Could pro-Chinese North Koreans take power when Kim Jong-il dies?

Their North Korean interlocutors said it is highly likely that the top brass in Pyongyang would seize power in a collective leadership system and promote Chinese-style reform and market opening policies if Kim Jong-il dies. North Korea will turn into a pro-U.S. and Western Europe country if the U.S. and Europe support and intervene when the Kim Jong-il regime breaks down, they said. But they warned pro-Chinese North Korean leaders will rise to power if Washington continues to negotiate with Pyongyang as it does now.

The Defense Department said in the past the U.S. prepared for the crumbling of authoritarian regimes by educating defectors from those countries and letting them take a role in rebuilding their countries. They asked whether North Korean defectors could play the same role. They also asked how the U.S. can help and intervene in the process.

The defectors urged the U.S. to employ strong pressure and dialogue at the same time in dealing with North Korea, so outside power can accelerate democratization from within. The U.S. officials promised to help North Koreans rebuild their nation in an efficient way.

◆ Human rights

At the State Department, the defectors criticized Washington for hastily lifting financial sanctions against the North and failing to raise the issue of human rights abuse. They claimed North Korea was simply using the Yongbyon nuclear facilities it no longer needs as a means to get international pressure lifted.

But officials defended U.S. policies toward the North. The officials assured the defectors that the U.S. has not given up on North Korea’s human rights violations, but the closure of the Yongbyon nuclear reactors is a starting point, and the six-party dialogue framework is designed to deal with the nuclear problem, not human rights. Officials stressed that there are plenty of options to pressure North Korea if it fails to fulfill its part of a Feb. 13 denuclearization agreement.

◆ US$11.5 million for North Korean human rights

A senior official at the U.S. National Security Council on Friday admitted the White House has not focused on North Korea due to problems in Iraq. But he said North Korea will become one of top priorities again. He added the U.S. government asked Congress to appropriate a budget of US$11.5 million for North Korea-related projects in 2008. $2 million of that will be spent to improve the human rights of North Koreans, $1.5 million will go to North Korean refugees, and $8 million will be given to broadcasters like the Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and Free North Korea Radio.

The official asked what the defectors thought were China’s real intentions, and sought their opinions about U.S. food aid for the North. He also wanted to know whether South Koreans are willing to make economic sacrifices as West German people did before the reunification of Germany.

(englishnews@chosun.com )