Update on DPRK-U.S. Relations
Request for U.S. to Put in Place Proper Conditions for Negotiations
- Nick Lin -
Kim Jong Un warmly welcomed as he enters meeting of the 14th Supreme
People's Assembly April 12, 2019 to deliver speech.
The U.S. is being asked to reconsider its recent actions
in
its relations with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
(DPRK) so that the process of negotiations begun in 2018, that it
derailed at the recent Hanoi Summit, can get back on track and
the issues of denuclearization, lifting of sanctions and other
work needed to normalize DPRK-U.S. relations can proceed on a
mutual and reciprocal step-by-step action-for-action basis, as
the situation requires.
DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, during a speech on the second
day of
the First Meeting of the 14th Supreme People's Assembly, on April
12 said that he is willing to meet U.S. President Donald Trump
for a third time if the U.S. were to propose such a summit, "on
the condition that [the U.S.] has the right attitude and seeks a
solution that we can share." He added that the DPRK would "wait
patiently until the end of the year for the United States to make
a bold decision."
Chairman Kim described the U.S. negotiating stance in
Hanoi as
being aimed at disarming the DPRK with the ultimate aim of regime
change. "We don't welcome -- and we have no intention of
repeating -- the kind of summit like the one held in Hanoi," Kim
said. The U.S. approach at Hanoi was "completely
impractical," he said and he emphasized that the U.S. "won't be able to
move us a single inch nor achieve any of its desires."
Kim suggested implementing the joint statement from the
first
DPRK-U.S. summit in Singapore on June 12, 2018, to realize a
third summit. The U.S. needs to "abandon its current calculation
and approach us with a new one," Kim said. He noted that the June
12 joint statement was "a historical declaration by which north
Korea and the U.S., two countries with hostile relations,
announced to the world that they were going to write a new
history." This statement represented "a signpost toward the
establishment of new north Korea-U.S. relations," he added.
"Confidence building," Kim stressed, "is the fundamental key for
resolving the hostile relations between our two countries." He
added, "Both sides need to set aside unilateral demands and
conditions and look for a constructive solution that accords with
their respective interests."
While the DPRK is open to a third summit if the required
conditions are put in place, it is also prepared for stepped up
hostility and ongoing sanctions from the U.S. Chairman Kim
remarked, "Now that the U.S. describes its demands, running
counter to the fundamental interests of our country, as conditions
for the lift of sanctions, the stand-off with the U.S. will
naturally assume the protracted nature, and sanctions by the
hostile forces will also continue."
He noted that as the DPRK had developed its nuclear
deterrent
to neutralize protracted nuclear threats from the U.S., it would
also find the means to "weather and foil" the unjust U.S.
sanctions regime. "We will no longer obsess over lifting
sanctions imposed by the hostile forces, but we will open the
path to economic prosperity through our own means," Kim stated.
The DPRK would achieve this, he said, by sticking to the
socialist economic nation-building project and putting the
national economy on a sound footing based on the Juche
policy of self-reliance in all fields, as well as the
modernization and ongoing development of information technology
and science.
Trump responded in a tweet on April 13 that "I agree
[...]
that a third Summit would be good."
In related news, the DPRK on April 18, expressed doubt
in the
ongoing role of U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo:
"[E]ven in the case of possible resumption of the
dialogue
with the U.S., I wish our dialogue counterpart would be not
Pompeo but [another] person who is more careful and mature in
communicating with us," Kwon Jong Gun, director general of the
Department of American Affairs in the DPRK's Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, was reported as saying on April 18 by the Korean Central
News Agency (KCNA). Responding to a KCNA reporter, Kwon said,
"[W]henever Pompeo pokes his nose in, the talks go wrong without
any results even from the point close to success. I am afraid
that, if Pompeo engages in the talks again, the table will be
lousy once again and the talks will become entangled." These
remarks echo previous ones from the DPRK's First Vice Foreign
Minister Choe Son Hui in mid-March who criticized Pompeo and
the White House National Security Advisor for their role in Hanoi
"creating an obstacle to constructive negotiation efforts between
the two leaders with their existing feelings of antagonism and
distrust."
Similarly on April 20, Vice Minister Choe criticized
Bolton's
remarks in a recent interview with Bloomberg News, where he said
the U.S. would need more evidence DPRK leader Kim Jong Un is
ready to give up nuclear weapons before Trump would meet with him
for a third summit. Choe described Bolton's comments as having
"no charm" and being "short-sighted," and said the United States
has nothing to gain with such remarks.
DPRK Test Launches "New Tactical Guided Weapon"
DPRK newspaper Rodong Sinmun reported on April
20 that
Chairman Kim had supervised and guided the test-firing of a
new-type tactical guided weapon conducted by the Academy of
Defence Science on April 17. The test is in keeping with the
DPRK's emphasis on self-reliance and self-defence, to provide
itself with the means to protect itself as it deems fit. The
south Korean newspaper Hankyoreh notes, "This was the
first time in five months that Kim has supervised the test of
cutting-edge weaponry, since the Rodong
Sinmun reported in a lead
story on Nov. 16, 2018, that Kim had 'supervised and guided a
test-fire of a new-type tactical guided weapon' at the Academy of
National Defence Science testing ground. But it was unrelated to
the nuclear weapons and long-range ballistic missiles that have a
direct bearing on affairs on the Korean Peninsula, including
north Korea-U.S. negotiations."
In other words, the DPRK has made clear that it
continues to
pay first-rate attention to its self-defence, while continuing to
uphold its commitment to suspend nuclear and ballistic missile
testing to create the conditions of trust required for
negotiations with the U.S.
South Korea-U.S. Summit in Washington, DC
South Korean President Moon Jae-in at a meeting with his senior
secretaries and aides at the Blue House on April 15, 2019 stated he is
pursuing an inter-Korean summit as soon as it can be arranged.
President of south Korea Moon Jae-in and President Trump
held
a summit in Washington, DC on April 11. Moon stressed that his
"important task" is to "maintain the momentum of dialogue" toward
the DPRK's denuclearization while "express[ing] the positive
outlook, regarding the third U.S.-north Korea Summit, to the
international community that this will be held in the near
future."
Moon said to Trump that a third DPRK-U.S. summit should
be
held in the near future, describing the second summit in Hanoi as
"part of a bigger process that will lead us to a bigger
agreement."
He went on to stress the solidity of south Korea-U.S.
relations, reiterating that "the Republic of Korea is absolutely
on the same page when it comes to the end state of the complete
denuclearization of north Korea. And I can reassure you that we
will remain in such great collaboration with the United States,"
he said, adding that there would be "no daylight until we achieve
our ultimate goal."
In response, Trump noted that "a lot of progress has
been
made" with the DPRK and that his relationship with Kim Jong Un
was "very, very good."
"We will have further dialogue and I look forward to
it," he
said, adding, "Hopefully, it will end up in a great solution for
everybody." He also reiterated his close personal relations with
Chairman Kim. "I can truly say I want to extend my warmest wishes to
Kim Jong Un and the people of north Korea," he added. "We'll see
what happens. Hopefully, it will end up in a great solution for
everybody, and ultimately a great solution for the world."
Commenting on the south Korea-U.S. alliance, Trump said the
relationship between the two sides was closer than ever
before.
Ahead of the summit, Moon met successively at his guest
house
with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, White House National
Security Advisor John Bolton, and Vice President Mike Pence, whom
he attempted to persuade of the U.S. need to quickly resume the
denuclearization talks. All three are said to have made remarks
to the effect that the U.S. remains open to negotiations.
Supplement
Important Anniversaries
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This article was published in
Volume 49 Number 14 - April 20, 2019
Article Link:
Update on DPRK-U.S. Relations: Request for U.S. to Put in Place Proper Conditions for Negotiations - Nick Lin
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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