Opinion - The Korea Times

Energized debate on N. Korea

By Tong KimA think tank report disclosing no new critical information about North Korea rarely creates a wave of repercussions, but that was the result of one on satellite imagery analysis of the Sakkanmol and a dozen other operating missile bases located throughout the North.The report was released by the Center for Strategic International Studies in Washington, igniting a public debate on North Korea, with an outburst of hawkish comments from many experts and politicians both Democrat and Republican. Some accused President Trump of being fooled by the North Koreans. Joseph Bermudez, one of the three authors of the report, grouped the identified operating missile bases into three belts extending from near the DMZ to the border with China to the north, each of which house ballistic missiles including ICBMs according to their ranges.The report was first published by the New York Times on Nov. 12, with the headline “In North Korea, Missile Bases Suggest a Great Deception.” The story was picked up quickly by other major media outlets, questioning the North's commitment to de

Nov 18, 2018By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

For peace and denuclearization

By Tong KimThe defense ministers of South Korea and the United States concluded their annual security consultative meeting (SCM) in Washington, Oct. 31, with an agreement to provide military support for the diplomatic efforts to achieve “a final, fully verified denuclearization” and to establish lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula. Military support requires U.S. endorsement of the inter-Korean military agreement of Sept. 29 and continued suspension of large-scale Korea-U.S. military exercises, which the North views as a rehearsal for an invasion on them. Defense secretary James Mattis told reporters that the Pentagon supports the inter-Korean military accord.Since President Trump single-handedly cancelled such full-scale allied exercises in Singapore, there have been no ROK-U.S. air force drills, employing B-1B Lancer bombers. No plan of allied exercises has been announced for the future. The alliance is working on other ways of joint training, essential to the maintenance of combat readiness. Last week's SCM also paved the way for “a conditions-based transfer of

Nov 4, 2018By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Challenges to peace process

By Tong KimPresident Moon Jae-in has just returned home from a nine-day trip to Europe, aimed at enlisting support for his peace initiative in Korea. Pope Francis' blessing and encouragement for Moon's peace initiative was particularly remarkable. The pope said to President Moon, who is a Catholic, “Don't stop. Go forward without fear.”In their private meeting at the Vatican, Moon conveyed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's message that he will “enthusiastically welcome the pope if he comes to North Korea.” The pope said he could go if Kim sent him an official invitation.His Holiness Francis is the respected leader of 2 billion Catholics worldwide, including over 6 million in Korea. His voice is influential on the issue of peace. If everything goes well, the pope can visit Pyongyang next year when he travels to Japan. His visit will help North Korea become a normal state and contribute to settling the peace on the peninsula.He has been a strong advocate for reconciliation and peace. South Korea was the first Asian country he visited after he became pope. He pra

Oct 21, 2018By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Long haul to denuclearization

By Tong KimThe outcome of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un Oct. 7 can be summarized in three areas of agreement: to hold a second U.S.-North Korea summit “as soon as possible,” to form “a working group” to discuss the denuclearization process, and to continue working together toward “complete denuclearization” according to the Singapore agreement.Pompeo characterized his talks with the North's state chairman as “a good, productive conversation.” While the conversation seemed to have covered several relevant issues of denuclearization, there seemed to be no negotiations on their differences. Their meeting lasted two hours, plus a luncheon. However, it signaled the significant resumption of nuclear talks between the U.S. and North Korea. After Pompeo's fourth visit to Pyongyang, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted, “…I am looking forward to seeing Chairman Kim Jong-un in the near future.” Both Kim and Trump want to have a second meeting. Kim seems to believe he may have

Oct 8, 2018By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Jumpstart of nuclear talks

By Tong KimSome of the statements that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un made to the South Korean delegation of envoys, headed by National Security Office chief Chung Eui-yong, on Sept. 5 are significant enough to provide new momentum to restart the stalled denuclearization talks between Pyongyang and Washington. According to Chung, Kim Jong-un reaffirmed his commitment to denuclearization and his trust in President Trump. Kim also “hoped to achieve denuclearization and to end hostile relations by the end of President Trump's first term.” This is the first time Kim mentioned a target timeline. This new time frame is longer than a year's period that John Bolton, national security adviser at the White House, had in mind, but probably acceptable to secretary of state Mike Pompeo, who has been warning that denuclearization will take a long time as there is a lot of work to do.But, there is an important part missing that Kim did not mention: a list of the North's nuclear arsenal, including weapons and production facilities, which the U.S. has been demanding unsuccessfully from t

Sep 9, 2018By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

The right price for denuclearization

By Tong KimPresident Donald Trump canceled Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's planned trip to Pyongyang within 24 hours after Pompeo announced the plan last Thursday. In a series of tweets, Trump said there was not enough progress on denuclearization, blaming China for not cooperating because of Washington's trade war with Beijing.Pompeo was going to make his fourth visit to Pyongyang with his newly appointed special envoy for North Korea Stephen Biegun, who served as executive secretary for the National Security Council during the George W. Bush administration, to seek a breakthrough in the standoff with the North on denuclearization. Trump maintains he has a good relationship with Kim Jong-un. He again sent his “warmest regards and respect to Chairman Kim,” looking forward “to seeing him soon.” Earlier he said a second meeting with Kim was “most likely.”Trump's cancellation of Pompeo's trip proves again he is the ultimate decision-maker who approves or disapproves decisions made by his secretaries and advisers, or changes his mind at the last minut

Aug 26, 2018By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Protracted peace in Korea

By Tong KimIt is hard to know exactly what caused the current stalemate on the issue of North Korea's denuclearization. Yet, from sporadic reports, we can reconstruct what has happened since the dramatic U.S.-DPRK summit in June, when North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reaffirmed his commitment to complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton revealed last week that Kim had told President Moon Jae-in that he would finish “complete denuclearization within a year.” Apparently on this assumption, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo unsuccessfully pressed the North for a list of Pyongyang's nuclear arsenal and a timeline for its denuclearization. An American news website called Vox reported on Aug. 8 that Pompeo presented a proposal on his July visit to Pyongyang that North Korea would turn over 60 to 70 percent of its nuclear bombs to the U.S. or to a third country, as a starting point within six to eight months. If true, it should have been unthinkable to expect the North to accept such a proposal. The North rejected it, calling i

Aug 12, 2018By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Deadlock on nuclear talks

By Tong KimIn recent weeks, U.S.-North Korea talks appeared to have hit a snag, with no further agreement on details to carry out North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's commitment to denuclearization. This was not a surprise to many critics of U.S. President Donald Trump's policy but a puzzling set back to its proponents, including the Seoul government. Yet, there are some indications for moving in the right direction: that is to take steps to building trust required for the next phase of the denuclearization process. Reports of the repatriation of the remains of those Americans who were killed during the Korean War signal a positive step forward, as it was one of the four points of agreement at the Singapore summit, albeit it was not directly related to denuclearization.An unannounced undertaking of the dismantlement of a missile engine test site that Kim Jong-un promised Trump in June is also seen as a positive step despite a dispute over its utility to the North's missile program or over the motive of the dismantlement at the absence of progress in talks.The North has so far made the

Jul 27, 2018By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Back to reality on North Korea

By Tong KimU.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's third visit to Pyongyang July 6-7 was considered a failure, with no gains, no meeting with Kim Jong-un and no progress on a much-expected plan of action for denuclearization. However, Pompeo claimed that his two-day talks with Kim Yong-chol, Pyongyang's point man for negotiations with the U.S., were “productive” and “made progress on all of the central issues.”The talks produced a lesson learned that the North Korean negotiating strategy has not changed. They stick to their time-tested play book, developing the logic of their own argument, trying to set the order of the agenda to their advantage and delaying concessions they will eventually have to make. A phased approach, with simultaneous action, is the number one principle of nuclear negotiation for the North Koreans. Two hours after Pompeo left Pyongyang July 7, the North Korean foreign ministry issued a statement describing the results of the talks as “regrettable” and “apprehensive.” According to the statement, “the U.S. side

Jul 13, 2018By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

A long path to denuclearization

By Tong KimMore than two weeks after the U.S.-North Korea summit in Singapore, June 12, the two sides have yet to hold follow-up negotiations that should lay out a specific path toward the announced goal of “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” Many are wondering what is going on now.Apparently as of last Friday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is still waiting for Pyongyang's agreement for his third visit there to work out the details of how to proceed on the denuclearization process. The North is yet to name Pompeo's counterpart for the follow-up talks. Once the follow-up talks begin, a lower working level negotiation may complement the ministerial talks, as the negotiations will deal with highly technical details.Returning home from Singapore, President Trump tweeted that North Korea poses no nuclear threat to the U.S., and he portrayed the summit as a big success, denouncing criticisms to the contrary as fake news. He claimed he did not give anything to the North, other than a meeting. Trump campaigned on his gains: freeze on nuclear and missile tests, d

Jul 1, 2018By Tong Kim

Tong Kim

Read more

Energized debate on N. Korea

For peace and denuclearization

Challenges to peace process

Long haul to denuclearization

Jumpstart of nuclear talks

The right price for denuclearization

Protracted peace in Korea

Deadlock on nuclear talks

Back to reality on North Korea

A long path to denuclearization

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