What Obama Should Tell Kim Jong Il

The North Korea-U.S. dialogue reconvened six days after North Korea agreed to a head representative conference of the six-party talks at the ASEAN Regional Forum. North Korean First Vice Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kim Gye Gwan, visiting New York for a talk with the U.S., told reporters that “now is the time for all countries to reconcile.” Is this a signal that North Korea will give up confrontation and provocation and change its direction toward dialogue and reconciliation? An optimistic forecast may emerge only if the dialogue between South and North Korea, as well as between North Korea and the U.S., are considered; however, a little consideration of North Korea’s act will immediately reveal Kim Gye Gwan’s wordplay.

South and North Korea Dialogue, a Stepping Stone toward North Korea-U.S. Dialogue

North Korea spent half of July raising hostility against South Korea, beginning with the Military-Civilian Congress held on July 4 in Pyongyang. North Korea gathered 100,000 representatives from various departments and social classes at the Kim Il Sung Square and raised a ruckus condemning “sins of the eternal traitors Lee Myung Bak and thugs.”* Mass outdoor gatherings trickled down from the national to the provincial to the city level. Even young students chanted slogans and brought out pickets that read “merciless death to the traitor Lee Myung Bak and thugs.”*

North Korea has suddenly approached us for a discussion. There is no need to wonder why North Korea is behaving in such way, as North Korea itself revealed the reason. On July 23, Minister for Foreign Affairs Pak Ui Chun claimed in his ARF speech that “the nuclear issue of the Korean Peninsula derived from the U.S.’s hostile policy and threat of nuclear war against our republic”* and added that “the U.S. is the one concerned party that has the ability and the responsibility to eliminate the source of the problem.”* This situation is too unique to ignore as the usual repetitive rhetorical exercise because the head representatives of the six-party talks met one day before this. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs termed the head representative conference as the first South and North Korea nuclear proliferation conference; however, North Korea crushed the prospect by holding a meeting that has no accountability or power to solve the nuclear issue. North Korea’s state-controlled media did not even report on the South and North Korea summit.

The South and North Korea dialogue is only a stepping stone for North Korea toward the goal of a North Korea-U.S. dialogue. It is also a part of North Korea’s strategy to pressure South Korea through a North Korea-U.S. dialogue. If North Korea has any lingering attachment for a dialogue with South Korea, there would be no reason to hold lengthy mass opposition gatherings against President Lee.

This is provocative, but the U.S. and North Korea are the ones that could actually solve the nuclear problem. The U.S. needs to analyze North Korea’s intentions and take appropriate measures. At his inauguration, U.S. President Barack Obama stated that he would have “tough, direct diplomacy” even with enemy nations. The North Korea-U.S. dialogue is such an opportunity.

President Obama has advocated “a world without nuclear weapons” and led the creation of the Nuclear Security Summit. In March 2012, the second Nuclear Summit will be held in Seoul. To prevent the summit in Seoul from becoming a meaningless rhetorical festivity of various leaders, the source of the North Korea nuclear issue must be identified at the North Korea-U.S. summit. President Obama is well aware that North Korea’s sinking of the Choenan and shelling of Yeonpyeong Island are the root of the problem between South and North Korea. A tough stance is necessary to directly deal with North Korea’s nuclear development and military provocation and to find a solution. The U.S. has persistently demanded China exercise its influence on North Korea to have it abandon its nuclear and military provocation but with no success. The U.S. would be eluding its responsibility if it continuously put the blame on China while holding a dialogue with North Korea.

The U.S., It Is Time for Tough Talk

President Obama’s message to Kim Jong Il at the North Korea-U.S. dialogue must be concise. It could be something like “the only solution to improve the North Korea-U.S. relationship is the abandonment of nuclear weapons and military provocation. In addition, there will be no dialogue with the U.S. without South Korea.” President Obama received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, in the first year of his presidency, not because of his accomplishments but as an encouragement for him to work toward world peace. He will earn praise as a legitimate recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize if he successfully leads this much-anticipated North Korea-U.S. summit.

*Editor’s Note: These quotes, though accurately translated, could not be verified.