John Kerry reconfirms the principle of denuclearization

John Kerry reconfirms the principle of denuclearization. April. 13, 2016 07:21. by 허문명논설위원 angelhuh@donga.com.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said at a press conference after the G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting held in Hiroshima, Japan, that if North Korea denuclearizes, discussions on reaching a peace agreement on the Korean Peninsula will begin as well as financial support, and the country will be welcomed back to the global stage. Such comment indicates denuclearization as the key to resolving all other matters, which is far from DPRK’s claim being a nuclear state.

It is also notable that such a statement was made just before North Korean Foreign Secretary Lee Soo Yong’s scheduled visit to the U.S. next week. Lee plans to attend the high-level meeting for sustainable development held in the UN Headquarters in New York on Thursday. It would be the first diplomatic visit by a DPRK official since the United Nations Security Council's sanctions were imposed, and the first participation in a UN working-level meeting since the country’s joining the UN in 1991. There seems to be a possibility that the North might attempt to resume dialogues given the strengthened pressure and sanctions by the international community.

Kerry, however, has reconfirmed that everything depends on Pyongyang’s change of attitude and its commitment to denuclearization. He also signaled the chance of a tightened sanctions against the nation by the U.S., warning that “measures outside the UNSC resolutions may be carried out.” The carrot and the stick are both used to draw Pyongyang back to the dialogue table. The G7 Foreign Ministers have equivocally denounced the recent nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches at the meeting as well.

Until now, Washington has required freeze of current nuclear activities and report of past nuclear activities to the IAEA as preconditions for resuming negotiations. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has shown a deceptive strategy by mentioning negotiations and talks on one side while continuing provocations at the back since the fourth nuclear test. On March 11, Kim threatened to “wipe out the world with nuclear bombs,” calling for its military to “be ready to conduct nuclear attacks on the ground, from air, on the seas, or anywhere.” The regime has shown signs of severe instability even among the elites at the top. If its leader truly meant that “negotiations are the fundamental answer,” he should accept denuclearization right away, because it would be the only key that leads to negotiations.