Obama to accept the Castro regime

U.S. President Barack Obama held historic bilateral talks with Cuban President Raul Castro on Sunday on his state visit to Cuba, being the first American president to do so in 88 years. The two leaders discussed ways to normalize the bilateral relationship including lifting embargo against Cuban exports, which have been implemented since Mr. Obama’s 2014 announcement. As Obama had mentioned in his speech at Havana Embassy, his visit to Cuba will be a “historic opportunity” to restore friendship between the people of the two nations. It is indeed comparable to former president Richard Nixon’s visit to China in 1972.

Even if Cuba, the only isolated nation in the Americas, fails to carry out political reforms immediately, such a movement will definitely bring positive changes to the country. Regarding this, Financial Times said that Cubans are expecting a miraculous economic boom in their country. President Obama is likely to emphasize that the U.S. no longer seeks to force a regime change but will let Cubans earn freedom themselves.

Such an action by the U.S. who played a role as a "game changer" in the world where once an enemy can always turn into an ally, particularly by intervening in domestic affairs of Iran, Vietnam, and Burma, gives us food for thought. China and North Korea are conducting under-the-table negotiations regarding a peace agreement on the Korean peninsula. If Kim Jong Un decides to stop hostile policies against South Korea and the U.S. and return to the negotiating table, the U.S. may reward by doing the same thing they did to Cuba – establishing diplomatic relations with the North without requiring regime change.

Yet, DPRK is essentially different from Cuba, with its nuclear plans. The two American countries have much longer history of economic exchanges, having maintained small-volume trades and people-to-people ties with 1.8 million Cuban immigrants living in the US. Kim Jong Un should no longer deny the fact that Cuba, a communist nation, has now chosen economic growth over security, opening up over isolation.

U.S. media outlets are completely ignoring DPRK’s recent threats and provocations, its announcement of a fifth nuclear test. Obama’s visit to Cuba is sweeping the headlines instead. The issue of inter-Korean relations is after all up to ourselves. The example of Cuba is a wake-up call reminding us the need to continue our efforts to persuade our neighbor for a change under a concrete strategy.

허문명논설위원 angelhuh@donga.com