Opinion - The Korea Times

Crossing the red line

By Tong Kim Many have reached a point of fatigue and a sense of futility in talking about denuclearization. There isplenty of blame to go around for Pyongyang, Washington and Seoul.North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong-ho, speaking to reporters in Vientiane, Laos, where he was attending this year’s ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), said on July26, “The United States dissipated the possibility of denuclearization into the air,” and added whether his country would conduct another nuclear test “would depend on the United States.”On July 26, toward the end of the ARF meeting, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said, “North Korean actions present a very serious threat not just to this region but to international peace and security.” After suggesting that an Iranian type of solutioncan still apply to North Korea, Kerry said, “The DPRK is the only country... that continues to develop its nuclear weapons and missiles.” Kerry called

Jul 31, 2016By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Escalating tensions on Korean Peninsula

By Tong Kim The strategic situation on the Korean peninsula is getting more complicated because of a recent chain of ill-advised actions and reactions by the relevant adversaries including the two Koreas, the United States, and China. Tensions have escalated, threatening the uneasy peace in Korea, making it more difficult to seek any peaceful resolution to the North Korean issues of nuclear and missile development, and human rights abuses. Forget about unification. During the last two weeks, two notable actions were taken, which brought about immediate reactions, signaling more bad news for the Korean peninsula. First, Washington designated Kim Jong-un as a target to sanction for his responsibility for human rights abuses in North Korea. Then, the Seoul government announced its decision to deploy the THAAD system to South Korea. Pyongyang and Beijing reacted in strong terms.Announcing the list that identified the North Korean leader and some of his subordinates as abusers of human rights, senior officials of the Obama administration said that with the new human rights sanct

Jul 17, 2016By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Completion of Kim Jong-un's control

By Tong Kim The Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) ― the legislative branch of the North Korean government that rubber-stamps decisions made by the Korean Workers’ Party and the DPRK government ― elected Kim Jong-un as “chairman of the State Affairs Commission” (SAC). Kim Yong-nam, president of the presidium of the SPA, said the new title represents “the top post” of the DPRK.The SAC replaces the National Defense Commission (NDC), which was set up by Kim Jong-il to carry out the “military-first” policy, and the younger Kim served as the NDC’s “first chairman.”The latest titular change in the DPRK’s power structure was made in Kim Jong-un’s presence during the fourth meeting of the 13th SPA on June 29, attended by about 700 deputies. Kim did not attend two previous annual SPA meetings.In May, the seventh party congress changed his party position from “first secretary of the party” to “chairman of the party.” Kim Jong-un did not use the same title of “general secretary of

Jul 3, 2016By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

To prevent nuclear war

By Tong Kim As Seoul and Washington stopped talking about dialogue with Pyongyang, some security experts are talking about the worst-case scenario: a nuclear war that could breakout on the Korean peninsula. North Korea continues advancing its nuclear and missile programs, while some call for Seoul’s own nuclear armament. Discussions of a nuclear war are taking place at a time when the Obama administration is distracted from its foreign policy in an election year, and the Park government is crippled by a defeat in recent parliamentary elections. Both administrations are resorting to the dubious efficacy of sanctions on North Korea, hoping that pressure would somehow lead to denuclearization.Unlike during the Cold War, when a nuclear war was considered unthinkable and the concept of mutually assured destruction (MAD) effectively reined in decision makers from going to nuclear war, the possibility of fighting a nuclear war has become a serious topic for discussion.In the past two weeks, three research organizations released their respective updated assessment of Pyongyan

Jun 19, 2016By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Pyongyang between China, US

By Tong Kim As tensions continue on the Korean peninsula, and while there is no prospect of a breakthrough to the worsening confrontation between Seoul and Pyongyang, the whole issue of North Korea ― including its nuclear and missile programs ― is getting out of control for South Korea, becoming an issue of strategic competition between Beijing and Washington. Seoul has rejected Pyongyang’s repeated proposals for holding inter-Korean military talks, which was suggested by Kim Jong-un during the 7th party congress of the Korean Workers Party and was followed up by the ministry of armed forces under the DPRK’s national defense commission.  Seoul determined that it was the time to focus on sanctions, not talks, suspecting that the proposal was a scheme to loosen up the unity of the international community regarding the sanctions levied on Pyongyang, and to divide the South Korean public. The South insists inter-Korean talks are meaningless, unless it deals with denuclearization.  In the meantime, the North Korean issue is slipping out of th

Jun 5, 2016By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

What to do after party congress

By Tong Kim A couple of points of observation ought to be made from the 7th Workers Party Congress that was recently held in Pyongyang.  First, the denuclearization of North Korea will not be achieved by negotiation. Second, the young and relatively inexperienced Kim Jong-un has firmly consolidated power, and his regime is not likely to collapse in a foreseeable future. The party congress refined North Korea’s nuclear doctrine: North Korea will not give up its nuclear weapons. Instead, it will “constantly grapple” with the so-called byungjin policy, aiming to improve and increase its nuclear arsenal, while rebuilding the economy. North Korea has publicly declared and codified itself as a nuclear state in its constitution as well as in the charter of the Workers Party.  The North Koreans made it clear that they will not negotiate their nuclear weapons away for anything in return. They will keep nuclear weapons for “the dignity and power” of the DPRK that, they believe for the right or the wrong reason, will protect the surviv

May 22, 2016By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Trump on South Korea

By Tong Kim As Donald Trump became the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, his foreign policy statements ― including those on U.S. alliances with South Korea and Japan ― that he made during his campaign are now under close scrutiny.  It remains to be seen whether his unconventional statements were simply campaign rhetoric or actually intended for action, if he is elected president of the United States in November. Although Trump’s exaggerated statements are generally lacking in specifics of how he would carry them out, he has repeated the same provocative lines so many times and so often that anyone interested in U.S. foreign policy, including U.S. allies and foes alike, has become more serious about what the Republican nominee really means. One thing is clear. Trump wants to pursue new American isolationism, putting American security and economic interests first. In American history, isolationism is a recurring phenomenon. He is skeptical of U.S. benefits from alliances, by which the U.S. is committed to defend its allies.  He thinks

May 8, 2016By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

For stability and peace

By Tong Kim With the outcome of the National Assembly elections on April 13, which handed a major victory to the opposition parties over the Saenuri Party of President Park Geun-hye, there appears to be a better chance for defusing tensions on the Korean Peninsula. This is because the administration’s hardened North Korea policy, supported by its conservative ruling party, which focused on security imperatives and pressuring the North Korean regime to change or collapse, has not produced its intended result. Instead, the policy has only intensified inter-Korean confrontation to the point of a serious security concern, after cutting off all channels of communication and closing the Gaeseong Industrial Complex. North Korea, still defiant of UN sanctions and bilateral sanctions of individual countries, of course is the first to blame for mounting tensions on the peninsula. The North relentlessly continues to test missiles and is now threatening a fifth nuclear test. Unfortunately, the North Koreans believe that strengthening their nuclear and missile capab

Apr 24, 2016By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

North Korean factor in elections

By Tong KimOn April 13, South Korea will elect 300 representatives to a new National Assembly amid concerns of a worsening relationship with the North and the woes of a stagnant economy. The general election will be carried out in a three-way race between the ruling Saenuri Party, the major opposition Minjoo Party of Korea (MPK) and the newly created Party of the People, a splinter opposition party.All three parties have disappointed the voters during their respective primaries and nominating processes. They all failed to take any constructive steps towards political reform and productive politics. Instead, they were involved in factional, divisive politics, internal bickering and power struggles. There were few policy debates among candidates, and the voters learned little about what their candidates would do, if they were elected.The outcome of the general election will likely influence President Park Geun-hye’s ability to run the country for the remainder of her term in office until February 2018. If her ruling party loses, she would be able to accomplish little. H

Mar 27, 2016By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Only way out is talks with N. Korea

Tong KimLeon SigalBy Tong KimWashington ― The only possible way out of the current deadlock with North Korea is to negotiate and see if the North is prepared to suspend arming in return for satisfying some of its security concerns, a well-known American expert said.Leon Sigal, director of the Northeast Asia Cooperative Security Project at the Social Science Research Council in New York said pressure will not work and it will not knuckle under and accept allied preconditions to take unilateral steps to denuclearize.He said that if President Park Geun-hye opposes efforts to open the way to a peace process in parallel with negotiations on further denuclearization and political and economic normalization, South Korea’s security will be in much greater jeopardy.A full text of the interview follows:Question: Given the continuing confrontation between the North Korea and the U.S. and its allies, what exit strategy would you advice for those policymakers concerned to consider, if they want to avert an apparent security crisis in Korea?Answer: Pressure on Pyongyang has never worked

Mar 17, 2016By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Read more

Crossing the red line

Escalating tensions on Korean Peninsula

Completion of Kim Jong-un's control

To prevent nuclear war

Pyongyang between China, US

What to do after party congress

Trump on South Korea

For stability and peace

North Korean factor in elections

Only way out is talks with N. Korea

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