[imText1]Nothing progressed since North Korea declared that it possesses nuclear weapons three months ago. The nations of the six party talks tried to bring North Korea back to the table.
Wang Jiarui, Chinese special envoy, visited North Korea, but he returned to China with conditions that will not be accepted by the related nations. The US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said that “North Korea nuclear issue should be solved by the six party talks” during an Asian tour and she also added, “we can’t wait for six party talks forever and the issue might be solved by UN Security Council.”
There’s news that Chinese President Hu Jintao might visit North Korea in June. Eventhough president Hu visits North Korea, nobody can assure that North Korea will resume back to the table. If North Korea denies the six party talks persistently, there is a possibility that the UN Security Council shall solve the issue. If so, not any one can assure that the issue shall be solved fundamentally. This is because Kim Jong Il will not give up nuclear weapons to maintain his dictatorship. North Korean nuclear issue is directly connected to the Kim Jong Il regime.
Then what is the solution for the North Korea nuclear issue, in other words, the Kim Jong Il regime?
Hwang Jang Yop, the chairman of North Korea Democratization Committee, kept saying that China is holding the key to solve the North Korean nuclear issue and that the crucial point is how South Korea acts toward the issue.
Hwang Jang Yop is the man who accurately knows about the regime’s weaknesses and strengths since he spent forty years with North Korea’s highest-ranking officials. The positions he had in North Korea include; dean of Kim Il Sung University, chief of North Korea parliament and the foreign secretary of the labor party. What is the strategy to change North Korea? See below to check out his latest opinions about the situation of Northeast Asia since North Korea’s declaration of nuclear weapon state (Feb. 10) and North Korea as an issue.
– While Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il are maintaining their power, you watched them closely. What are the strength and weakness of the Kim Jong Il regime?
North Korea is a tiny country, but it has been preparing for a war for the last 50 years. Military power is the strength of North Korea. The weakness is its economy and human rights. Military method should not be used to solve the North Korea issue. There is no reason to touch their strength. To solve the nuclear issue, it would be better to not consider a military attack but an economic sanction.
Military method shouldn’t be considered to solve North Korea issue
North Korea has been preparing its military power considering of a nuclear war since the Korean War. Is it possible to use more superior weapons to fight against them? Let’s say the Kim Jong Il regime is collapsed by the use of military power, but that is useless. Civilians will be devastated enormously. Then it would be a war, which is militarily a success but morally a failure. Something like Iraq war will not be work.
In terms of military power and possibility, using military method is not a proper way. Economic and diplomatic methods should be used. Who has the most power toward North Korea? It is China. We should make China politically stand by our side to solve the North Korean issue.
– Does China want North Korea to be changed?
Under the current situation that China allied with the Kim Jong Il regime, China cannot give a large impact on North Korea. What Chinese government does at this moment is complying with North Korea’s requests and is holding back a war. Chinese government is only against that North Korea breaks out a war with South Korea and agrees with the rest of the North Korea’s internal policies.
Chinese requested to North Korea to open its door. Opening door like Chinese style means abolishing the dictatorship (Suryeong System) and introducing market economy system. Once foreign cultures flow into North Korea, the dictatorship will be rejected. People in North Korea are not fools.
However, Kim Jong Il will not agree to abolish the dictatorship. He has been maintaining the dictatorship for 25 years since 1979, when China first opened its door. That is why he is absolutely against the reform and opening up, which can bring the change to the current system. Kim Jong Il spoke ill of Deng Xiaoping, the radicals and the reformists. He will refuse to follow the Chinese style liberalization.
North Korea-China relation, there’s no community of ideology
– In terms of national ideology between North Korea and China, do you think there’s a similar aspect?
Before China opens its door, North Korea-China alliance was maintained by “community of socialism.” Politically, China is currently sticking to socialism, but they focus on economic development. Furthermore, they are making a determinate reform. Chinese government emphasizes that it will complete socialism through economic development. Formally, it seems that socialism is commonness between two countries, but the real thing is different fundamentally. North Korea is a patriarchal totalitarianism and dictatorship country. China has nothing to do with them. There’s no commonness in the system and ideology where alliance are to be based on together.
– What kind of influence can Russia exercise to North Korea?
There is not much Russia can do to North Korea. Russia is an associate ally. It is not an ally that comes from the system. Russia does not want North Korea take militarism, either. Russia’s impact on North Korea is limited.
– What’s the reason China supports the Kim Jong Il regime?
First reason is that they have a historical relationship in the past. The other reason is that China believes that if North Korea collapses, the Korean peninsula will be unified by South Korean lead and the US power shall be brought into the Korean peninsula. China regards the US as their final competitor, so they will not sit back and watch American power fully settling on the Korean peninsula.
Not everyone in China likes Kim Jong Il. Even though China is a socialist country, they hate dictatorship. Kim Jong Il caused lots of problems in China and the international society. Current nuclear issue is one of them. North Korean government met Taiwanese government quite often without giving a notice to the Chinese government (PRC). Even though Chinese government knows the fact, they just let it go because they think if they leave North Korea alone, the US might come to theKorean peninsula.
China Wants ‘Quiet Korean Peninsula’
– China focuses on the economic development by maintaining only cooperation with the US.
China will not give up socialism. They think that developing economy is necessary to complete socialism. What they want is to compete with the US in the end. What the US does at this moment is encircling China. China is enduring it until it achieves an economic development. What it wants is to focus on high economic development for the time being. China should work together with the US and Japan. China thinks that South Korea is on the American side. That is why when the US try to apply pressure to North Korea, China is object to do so that and emphasizes to solve the problems though talks.
What China wants is “peaceful Korean peninsula.” They want the Korean peninsula to be remained peacefully until they are ahead of the US economically. China thinks that anti-Americanism might be rising in South Korea and Japan, and then the US power in two countries might diminish in 10 or 20 years.
– When was North Korea-China alliance tightened?
The Korean War tightened the relationship between the two countries. Russian army supported North Korea at the back and Chinese army fought with North Korean soldiers in the front line. Mao Zedong told us (North Koreans) that Chinese army joined the war after setting 12 gates and was determined to be a partisan. If the US launches atomic bomb against human sea tactic, they were planning to go into the upper Northeast side; Shanghai, Beijing and the coastal areas.
One million Chinese soldiers joined the Korean War and 400,000 soldiers were dead
One million Chinese soldiers joined the Korean War and casualties were up to 400,000. It is the official rate, revealed by Kim Il (real name is Park Duk San) in Moscow communist meeting held in 1960. At that time, they were exemplary soldiers to North Korean soldiers who had moralistic superiority through the anti-Japanese fight. They shared their joy and sorrows with the North Korean soldiers and worked together with them. On the other hand, Russian soldiers who were stationed in North Korea after the liberation were low quality soldiers. Many Russian soldiers were criminals. Chinese soldiers made a deep (positive) impression to people in North Korea. They fought bravely. That is why people in North Korea have a good feeling toward China.
When China opened its door, Chinese government suggested to Kim Jong Il to do open its door too, but Kim Jong Il was against it. The relationship between the two countries deteriorated entering the 1990’s but it is recovering now. North Korea is making a bare living depending on China. In terms of non-governmental relations, people in North Korea are getting supports coming and going out of the Northeastern areas to do businesses with the Chinese Koreans.
