'N. Korea should make fundamental change,' says Cheong Wa Dae

'N. Korea should make fundamental change,' says Cheong Wa Dae. May. 09, 2016 07:17. by 장택동 기자will71@donga.com.

The presidential office said that North Korea did not change in response to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s recent comment. The North Korean leader claimed in the Workers’ Party Congress on Friday that it is a responsible nuclear state and stressed the importance of dialogues and negotiations. The presidential office said that the North showed a classical “dialogue offensive."

“While Kim Jong Un mentioned ‘global denuclearization,' it wanted to be recognized as nuclear weapon state without talking about abandoning its nuclear weapons,” a source from the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said on Sunday. “This should be seen as a rhetoric. The South Korean government firmly believes that North Korea should show strong commitments to denuclearization for a dialogue.”

The presidential office thinks that Kim Jong Un’s claims are only the reconfirmation of that the regime's intention that it wants to be recognized as nuclear weapon state so that it could seek negotiations with Washington. For such reason, Seoul believes Pyongyang could push for an additional nuclear test anytime.

Another source from the presidential office said, “Despite several additional nuclear tests, North Korea will not be considered as a nuclear weapon state by the international community, which imposes sanctions against the regime in unison unprecedentedly.” In addition, he said, “If we respond to a dialogue when the North does not show any fundamental change, it would simply lead to the North's same pattern of provocation -> sanctions -> dialogues. The North needs to break this pattern.”

As international sanctions on North Korea begin to take effect gradually, the presidential office will continue put pressure on the North. The countries that used to be traditionally close to the North begin to take a different stance. Chinese President Xi Jinping repeatedly stressed that China would “fully and completely implement” the U.N. sanctions against North Korea, and Russia decided to implement the sanctions. A source from the South Korean government said, “The effect can be materialized only if the sanctions continue at least six months. Even if the North starts provocations or makes a peace offensive, we should be more patient about this.”