'NK wants sanctions relief for inter-Korean projects'
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By Lee Kyung-min
North Korea has sought to obtain sanctions relief by receiving funds from South Korea for inter-Korean economic projects, according to U.S.-based North Korea expert Tara O.
She said that without sanctions relief, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his regime will not be able to take advantage of over $1 billion (1.12 trillion won) in the Moon Jae-in administration's budget allocated for affairs related to his regime.
Tara O
“Of the over $1 billion budget of the Ministry of Unification, a big portion is earmarked for North Korea, such as for reopening the Gaeseong Industrial Complex and Mount Geumgang, as well as building roads and other projects,” O, adjunct fellow at the Pacific Forum, told The Korea Times in an email interview.
O said the sanctions do not allow for money transfers as they were put in place in response to North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
O is a member of the board of directors of the International Council on Korean Studies and author of “The Collapse of North Korea: Challenges, Planning and Geopolitics of Unification.”
“The Moon administration is very eager to pay for these projects and Kim Jong-un is eager to receive, but (it is impossible) without dismantling its nuclear weapons program and without reducing its threats to South Korea,” she said.
The Ministry of Unification's budget for inter-Korean cooperation came to around 1.25 trillion in 2019, a 15 percent increase from a year earlier.
Some 309 billion won is earmarked for general aid, while 119 billion won is to be used for financing firms with projects involving North Korea.
About 39.5 billion won will be used to help support reunions for divided families. Cooperation in the medical sector takes up about 72.5 billion won, while 113 billion is to be used for forest development.
O said that Kim Jong-un wanting sanctions lifted, while keeping his nuclear weapons, is an indication that he is not committed to the denuclearization of North Korea, with an emphasis on North Korea ― not the Korean Peninsula.
She added, “U.S. President Donald Trump having walked away from the second U.S.-North Korea summit in Hanoi, in that sense, was the right thing to do.”
O expects Kim will continue to find ways to obtain hard currency and goods, all of which he needs to bribe the ruling elites there to help him stay in power.
“Just the other day, the Dutch seized 90,000 bottles of Russian vodka concealed in an aircraft fuselage they believe are destined for Kim Jong-un. Kim needs it because this impacts the elites, whose support is crucial for Kim to maintain the current system.”
A U.S. Air Force veteran who achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel, O worked on national security, alliance, and political-military issues at the Pentagon, U.S. Forces Korea and U.S. European Command, among others.