NK tries to dub itself nuclear state

Kim Jong-un seeks to gain more leverage in future negotiations

By Kim Bo-eun

North Korea is seeking to gain more leverage in future negotiations with the United States by dubbing itself a nuclear power state, according to sources. The reclusive nation is seeking to highlight its nuclear status to secure more economic incentives and guarantees of regime safety, they said.

North Korea announced Saturday the regime had completed developing nuclear weapons and readied them for use. The announcement came a day after a meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party, presided over by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

A resolution passed at the meeting stated it would suspend its nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported.

Victor Cha, senior adviser and Korea chair for the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), made clear the declaration “is not a denuclearization statement.”

This is because it only pledged not to make further provocations and did not state it would give up the nuclear weapons it retains.

Referring to a “test ban, no first use, and no transfer” in the statement, Cha told news outlet Axios on Saturday, “It is a statement that DPRK can be a responsible nuclear weapons state.” DPRK is the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

The international community cautiously welcomed North Korea's decision to freeze nuclear and missile tests and shut down its Pyunggye-ri nuclear test site, with different interpretations lingering over the intentions of the surprise decision.

Key states welcomed Pyongyang's decision, especially at this time when North Korea will have a summit over denuclearization with South Korea this week and with the U.S. in late May or June.

“We evaluate North Korea's decision as meaningful progress toward the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, which the world wishes for,” Cheong Wa Dae said in a statement. “It will contribute to creating a positive environment for the success of the inter-Korean and North Korea-U.S. summits which will be held soon.”

U.S. President Donald Trump posted on Twitter: “This is very good news for North Korea and the world _ big progress! Look forward to our summit.”

However, there is contention over Pyongyang's sincerity, as it made the statement to freeze its nuclear development at a time when the North is seen to have completed the process.

In addition, North Korea making the declaration before its upcoming summits with the South and the U.S. is seen as a move to gain an advantage in negotiations and call for relief from sanctions that have been crippling its economy.

The North said in the statement it would focus on building its economy because it has completed its nuclear weapons development. Lifting economic sanctions is seen as critical in enabling this. In a 2013 Workers' Party's Central Committee meeting, the state leader designated developing its nuclear arsenal and building its economy as state goals.

Japan, which has maintained a stance of skepticism toward North Korea, expressed caution.

“I want to welcome these positive moves, but I wonder if this will lead to the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of its nuclear arsenal, weapons of mass destruction and missiles,” Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told reporters in Tokyo. “I'd like to keep a close eye on the movements.”

South Korea's conservative parties also said Pyongyang's statement could not be trusted.

“The current situation, in which no declarations are made on discarding the nukes and missiles North Korea retains, is no different from the show in 2008 when Pyongyang blew up its Yongbyon reactor cooling tower,” said Hong Joon-pyo, chairman of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party.

Pyongyang destroyed a cooling tower at its main Yongbyon nuclear reactor complex in 2008 in a move to show its efforts toward denuclearization. North Korea was subsequently removed from the list of countries sponsoring terrorism. However, it continued provocations afterward, earning criticism that the move was a false display.