Allies likely to push for N. Korea regime change

By Yi Whan-woo

South Korea and the United States are ramping up pressure on North Korea following its fifth nuclear test, raising the possibility that they may possibly be pushing for a regime change there.

They never clearly stated that a regime change is their policy goal, but recent remarks from their leaders and key officials suggest that they do not expect any change in North Korea under the rule of Kim Jong-un.

On Saturday, President Park Geun-hye vowed to separate North Korea’s ruling class from the rest of the people in dealing with the reclusive country. Her move is fueling speculation that she no longer considers Kim a dialogue partner while preparing for the possible collapse of the tyrannical state.

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se also said, Sunday, that North Korea’s nuclear capability must be viewed differently compared with the past and that there should be a “drastic change” in dealing with North Korea.

The U.S. has been gearing up toward blockading Pyongyang’s exports of coal and other mineral resources despite concerns that a ban on such trading for “livelihood purposes” can cause chaos to the Kim regime. Washington has been trying to cut Pyongyang’s remaining access to international banking as well.

“President Park is now opting for a North Korea policy that is ultimately aimed at the fall of the Kim regime,” said Nam Sung-wook, a professor of North Korean studies at Korea University.

He cited that Park urged North Korea’s civilians and rank-and-file troops to “come and find a new home” in South Korea during her speech to mark the 68th anniversary of the Armed Forces Day, Saturday.

Park also said universal values of freedom, democracy, human rights and welfare are “the precious rights” North Koreans should also enjoy and that she will leave the path open for them to flee here.

Her remarks were seen as an effort to separate North Korean leaders further from other classes of people. She only encouraged the civilians, including working-level officials, to join inter-Korean unification efforts on Aug. 15 when she first hinted at regime change in North Korea.

“She addressed what I call the strongest message ever on North Korea policy,” said Koh You-hwan, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University. “The message showed that Seoul will step up its sanctions and pressure on Pyongyang regardless of the instability of North Korea and hope that North Koreans may rise against their regime accordingly.”

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, agreed.

“It can be interpreted that Park implied the collapse of North Korea when she encouraged North Koreans to come to the South,” he said. “It’s apparent that she does not recognize the Kim regime as a sovereign state.”

A researcher at the Institute for Peace and Unification Studies at Seoul National University, refusing to be identified, speculated that the U.S. took the possible fall of North Korea into account during a congressional hearing in Washington, D.C., Tuesday.

Daniel Russel, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, then said the U.S. government is working to deny North Korea access to the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network.

SWIFT enables financial institutions worldwide to send and receive information about transactions in a secure, standardized and reliable environment.

Meanwhile, the opposition parties called Park’s Saturday message is “gruesome.”

“The President must be angry about North Korean provocations, but her message won’t help at all for peace on the Korean Peninsula,” main opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) spokesman Ki Dong-min said.

Minor opposition People’s Party floor leader Park Jie-won posted on Facebook that he “could not sleep a bit” after listening to her speech.

“I don’t find such an aggressive message against North Korea appropriate,” he wrote. “She explicitly addressed collapse of North Korea and defection of North Koreans and her message can be understood as a declaration of war.”

In a media interview, Sunday, Yun said South Korea and the U.S. are considering the nuclear umbrella and other various means to deter North Korea’s advance of nuclear and ballistic missile threats.

He said such topics will be the key agenda when the two allies hold meetings with their foreign and defense ministers in Washington, D.C. late this month.