N. Korea is losing friends: vice defense minister
Representatives from 33 countries attend the opening ceremony of the Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD) held at the Westin Chosun Hotel in central Seoul, Thursday. / Yonhap
By Jun Ji-hye
Hwang In-moo Vice defense minister
Countries that have traditionally maintained ties with North Korea are now turning their backs on the reclusive country, Vice Defense Minister Hwang In-moo said Thursday.
One indication is the presence of Uganda and Ethiopia in a defense forum being held in Seoul.
The participation of four central European countries ― the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia ― will also make the North uncomfortable, Hwang said in an interview with The Korea Times on the sidelines of the Seoul Defense Dialogue (SDD).
The SDD kicked off Wednesday for a three-day run with representatives from 33 nations, including the United States, Japan and Russia, and five international bodies, including the United Nations, the European Union and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.
“Uganda and Ethiopia have maintained friendly relationships with the North until recently. Plus, the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia are countries that achieved the transition from communism to democracy,” Hwang said. “Their participation in the SDD reflects deepening isolation of the North.”
Hwang said their participation in the discussion on ways of making the North abandon its nuclear and missile capability as well as their planned signing of a joint declaration on the last day of the forum is expected to put a lot of pressure on the repressive state.
The six countries have sent representatives to the forum for the first time, reflecting Seoul’s growing diplomatic ties with them, the vice minister noted.
Hwang said that Uganda in particular has covertly cooperated with the North militarily.
“Through Uganda’s participation, the global communist is able to show its collective will and send a consistent message to the North,” he said.
Uganda sent its delegation led by Ministry of Defense Permanent Secretary Rosettie Byengoma after President Park Geun-hye became the first South Korean leader to visit to the country earlier this year. During a summit between Park and Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, the latter promised to “disengage” from military cooperation with the North.
It was known that some 50 North Korean personnel serving in Uganda pulled out of the country as it did not sign a contract extension in June.
“Through bilateral talks with the two African countries and four European nations, I will try to establish military confidence with them,” Hwang said. “I expect the participation of those countries to help South Korea maintain a full readiness posture through the sharing of relevant information keeping the pressure on the North.”
Regarding China’s failure to accept the invitation by Seoul to attend the SDD, Hwang said though China’s government delegation did not attend, it never made the SDD less meaningful as the forum brought representatives from 33 countries together.
Beijing has dispatched delegates for four straight years since the inaugural event in 2012 _ the country sent a military officer serving in South Korea in 2012 and 2013, and a director-level defense official in 2014 and 2015. But this time, the country did not dispatch anyone from its government.
Observers say that China’s apparent refusal to attend this year’s event is seen as a protest against Seoul and Washington’s announcement in July on the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery here by the end of next year.
But Hwang said Seoul will still dispatch its general-level official to a security meeting in China, the Xiangshan Forum, scheduled to take place next month.
“We don’t intend not to send our officials to China simply because China did not dispatch its personnel to the SDD,” Hwang said. “National interests of each country could differ, but it is necessary to continue our strategic partnership. China should show a more mature attitude.”
Seoul and Washington say that THAAD is designed to deter evolving nuclear and missile threats from the North, but China has repeatedly claimed that the system’s radar can be used to spy on its military activities.
Meanwhile, the vice defense minister said it is understood that Pyongyang has made considerable progress in acquiring technology necessary to develop a nuclear warhead small enough to be put on a ballistic missile, given that nine years have elapsed since the North carried out the first nuclear test in October 2006.
He cited that it took six to seven years for the United States, the Soviet Union and Britain to complete its development of a miniaturized nuclear warhead, and two years for France after the 1960s.
“Of course, we need to confirm additional information to conclude the North’s capability,” Hwang said. “There is a limitation in understanding exactly what the North has, but the South Korean government and military is mobilizing all possible means to monitor movements in the North’s nuclear development.”