Nuclear weapons should be kept off hands of violent Kim Jong Un

Kim Jong Un, who had executed Jang Song Thaek, North Korea’s former No. 2 man and his own uncle, in an inhumane way, was seen smiling when paying “onsite guidance visits” to Mashiryong ski resort and a military unit. He seemingly tried to demonstrate that there is no obstacle to his consolidating power. To the eyes of people around the world, the insane young dictator’s calm behaviors only look gruesome.

Visiting Vietnam, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry compared Kim Jong Un to late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, calling the former a "merciless and violent figure," adding that "such a reckless person should not be allowed to possess nuclear weapons." Kerry thus warned that the world should thoroughly block the violent dictator, who has no properly functioning rationality, from developing nuclear weapons.

The North has yet to acquire technology to reduce the size and weight of its nuclear weapons for a long-range missile. Currently, South Korea and Japan are the direct targets of threat posed by the North’s nuclear weapons. Recognition of the situation by Kerry, who stressed that the U.S., South Korea, China, Japan and Russia should resolve the North’s nuclear issue as soon as possible, is timely and well-advised. With Iran’s nuclear issue moving toward resolution, the U.S. and the international community have prepared conditions to focus on the North’s nuclear issue. They should mobilize the international community’s commitment to denuclearization of the North, and continue stepping up pressure on Pyongyang.

President Park Geun-hye presided over a foreign affairs and security-related ministerial meeting Monday afternoon. Judging the possibility that the North commits reckless acts of aggression cannot be ruled out, the participants discussed ways to cope with various potential scenarios. It is hard to predict what action the North under the Kim Jong Un regime will dare to take after showing such extreme brutality. If the North Korean military launches an act of aggression due to misjudgment, the South should be fully prepared to stage completely destructive strikes not only on the origin of the North’s attack but also at its central command. As areas around the Northern Limit Line, including Five Yellow Sea Islands, were places that have seen frequent skirmishes and naval battles, the South Korean military should be highly vigilant of the enemy forces’ moves there.

Unlike in the last year, the North has not publicized its memorial ceremony that took place on the second anniversary of Kim Jong Il’s death. It is difficult to speculate what intent Pyongyang has in mind, but it could be reflection that the internal situation of the North’s leadership is in disarray due to the execution of Jang. The South should keep a close watch on every move of supreme power elite aiding Kim Jong Un. By predicting the direction of the North’s future moves through detailed profiles of figures that have newly emerged, Seoul will be able to come up with countermeasures that will enable the South to stably manage inter-Korean relations. In order to minimize impact of instability originating from Pyongyang on Northeast Asia, South Korea, the U.S., China and Japan should seek concerted measures to cope with it through close exchange of information.