Gregg lauds President's 'Trustpolitik'
By Chung Min-uck
Donald Gregg, a former U.S. ambassador to Seoul, said Tuesday that North Korea won't target South Korea or the United States with nuclear weapons for fear of the consequences.
In an interview with The Korea Times, Gregg also praised President Park Geun-hye's attempt to build trust with Pyongyang.
"The North is moving toward becoming a nuclear power but it is not going to use nuclear weapons against the U.S. or South Korea. If it did, it knows it would be devastated," said Gregg. "I think Kim Jong-un is consolidating his position domestically by moving toward building nuclear capacity."
Touching on President Park's North Korea policy, he said Park's policy "Trustpolitik" is a good term. "The important thing is to become closer and build trust with the North. Once trust has been established, we can move to the issues that divide the two Koreas."
The chairman of the Pacific Century Institute said that Seoul and Washington should be aware what signals Pyongyang is sending through such activity as nuclear tests.
"North Korea's Kim is saying ‘Take me seriously. I am going to build nuclear capacity unless I become certain you have really become friendly to me.'"
The former ambassador's comments come at a time when the Feb. 12 nuclear test makes it difficult for the new President to push for a policy of engagement, based on her "Korean Peninsula Trust-building Process."
Amid increasingly hawkish voices, Park recently clarified, on numerous occasions including her inaugural speech on Feb. 25, that North Korea's denuclearization is a key precondition for any engagement.
Gregg, however, disagreed with the position.
"I would not put denuclearization at the very front," he said. "I think Park is going to get there after engaging with the North. I also think it is better to talk about nonproliferation instead of denuclearization."
As for ways of engaging with the North, Gregg said that the two Koreas should start with the basic issues such as inter-Korean family reunion and the identification of dead bodies kept in each other's territory since the Korean War.
He also expressed hope for the new President, looking back on her previous visit to North Korea.
"I met Park after her visit to the North in 2002," said Gregg. "I said I know they tried to kill your father twice and actually killed your mother, then she said we must look to the future with hope not to the past with bitterness. That's a very powerful statement. I think she inherited her father's mind and her mother's heart. I think that's a very good combination."
Park's mother and later former first lady Yuk Young-soo was shot and killed by a North Korean agent in 1974.
Park is the daughter of late authoritarian conservative President Park Chung-hee.
Gregg also said Park's conservative image, represented by her late father, is a political asset.
"Park engaging with the North won't have more domestic backlash than with the liberals. If she makes a move toward the North, she will gain support from the opposition party," Gregg said.
Gregg served as the U.S. ambassador here between 1989 and 1993 after more than three decades of service in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with a focus on Asia. He later went on to serve as chairman of the Korea Society. He visited North Korea five times during his career.
He is a supporter of late former President Kim Dae-jung's "Sunshine Policy" and is considered one of the leading experts on Korean issues.
By Chung Min-uck
 |
| Donald Gregg |
In an interview with The Korea Times, Gregg also praised President Park Geun-hye's attempt to build trust with Pyongyang.
"The North is moving toward becoming a nuclear power but it is not going to use nuclear weapons against the U.S. or South Korea. If it did, it knows it would be devastated," said Gregg. "I think Kim Jong-un is consolidating his position domestically by moving toward building nuclear capacity."
Touching on President Park's North Korea policy, he said Park's policy "Trustpolitik" is a good term. "The important thing is to become closer and build trust with the North. Once trust has been established, we can move to the issues that divide the two Koreas."
The chairman of the Pacific Century Institute said that Seoul and Washington should be aware what signals Pyongyang is sending through such activity as nuclear tests.
"North Korea's Kim is saying ‘Take me seriously. I am going to build nuclear capacity unless I become certain you have really become friendly to me.'"
The former ambassador's comments come at a time when the Feb. 12 nuclear test makes it difficult for the new President to push for a policy of engagement, based on her "Korean Peninsula Trust-building Process."
Amid increasingly hawkish voices, Park recently clarified, on numerous occasions including her inaugural speech on Feb. 25, that North Korea's denuclearization is a key precondition for any engagement.
Gregg, however, disagreed with the position.
"I would not put denuclearization at the very front," he said. "I think Park is going to get there after engaging with the North. I also think it is better to talk about nonproliferation instead of denuclearization."
As for ways of engaging with the North, Gregg said that the two Koreas should start with the basic issues such as inter-Korean family reunion and the identification of dead bodies kept in each other's territory since the Korean War.
He also expressed hope for the new President, looking back on her previous visit to North Korea.
"I met Park after her visit to the North in 2002," said Gregg. "I said I know they tried to kill your father twice and actually killed your mother, then she said we must look to the future with hope not to the past with bitterness. That's a very powerful statement. I think she inherited her father's mind and her mother's heart. I think that's a very good combination."
Park's mother and later former first lady Yuk Young-soo was shot and killed by a North Korean agent in 1974.
Park is the daughter of late authoritarian conservative President Park Chung-hee.
Gregg also said Park's conservative image, represented by her late father, is a political asset.
"Park engaging with the North won't have more domestic backlash than with the liberals. If she makes a move toward the North, she will gain support from the opposition party," Gregg said.
Gregg served as the U.S. ambassador here between 1989 and 1993 after more than three decades of service in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with a focus on Asia. He later went on to serve as chairman of the Korea Society. He visited North Korea five times during his career.
He is a supporter of late former President Kim Dae-jung's "Sunshine Policy" and is considered one of the leading experts on Korean issues.
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