US Should Test Pyongyang’s Motive for Nuclear Programs
By Kang Hyun-kyung
Staff Reporter
A former U.S. ambassador to South Korea called on Washington to figure out first if North Korea genuinely intends to end nuclear programs when dealing with the Stalinist state.
``We need to test the intentions of the North without any secondary impediments,'' said James T. Laney at a special lecture to commemorate the eighth anniversary of former President Kim Dae-jung's receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.
``That can only be done in the context of a good-faith offer of normalization of relations with the United States and hopefully with South Korea,'' Laney said.
He argued the incoming U.S. government's dispatch of a special envoy to Pyongyang would help it figure out the North's motives, singling out former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former Defense Secretary William Perry and former Senator Sam Nunn as possible candidates for the special mission.
``Their presence alone would confer the dignity the North so longs to have acknowledged. Their astuteness and demonstrated wisdom would ensure that either a verifiable deal could be struck, or that the North did not indeed intend to give up its nuclear card,'' Laney observed.
The former U.S. ambassador predicted that the three would go as emissaries with unquestioned presidential authority and an acknowledged reputation.
In a speech during the event, former President Kim observed that the South Korean government faces three formidable challenges.
``There are crises in democracy, the domestic economy, especially affecting the general public, and crises in inter-Korean relations,'' Kim said.
Kim proposed that President Lee Myung-bak send an envoy to Pyongyang on condition of acknowledging the June 15 and Oct. 4 declarations Kim and his predecessor, former Korean president Roh Moo-hyun, signed with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in 2000 and 2007, respectively.
``The situation of worsening inter-Korean relations will move in a positive direction only after Lee acknowledges the two declarations and commitment to hold South-North summit talks,'' he said.
The former President called on President Lee to have a fresh look at what North Korea is for the South.
``Although the North is poor at the moment, it has great potential for economic development. It has large reserves of rare minerals underground that the world has its eyes on. It has a cheap but qualified workforce,'' he said.
Kim insisted that the government should take advantage of the commonalities the South and North share, such as language, culture and physical proximity, and build inter-Korean relations benefiting both sides.