[imText1]The words ”eternal opposition” have always followed Jang Gi Pyo around. It’s hardly surprising; after many years of student and worker activism and a good amount of prison time, even the challenge of politics is already in its 20th year for the leader of the new ‘K-Party’.
Jang is still a very straight talker despite his age, as he revealed on the 16th in an interview with Daily NK at his Yeouido office. Living in that sparsely populated space reserved for people whose domestic leanings are progressive but who reject the domestic left wing approach to inter-Korean relations has not dimmed his enthusiasm, it appears.
The next two or three years will be the most critical for the Kim Jong Eun system, he predicts. At such a crucial time, he says that a more aggressive policy is needed to create an atmosphere conducive to bringing an end to the succession regime and to help find the road to national reunification. Conversely, he says that progressive groups have a view of North Korea that is simply “unrealistic.”
Jang believes that the process of change must start with the return of rationality. It is irrational to be for an FTA because you are the ruling party and be against an FTA because you are the opposition party, he points out by way of example. An incomplete FTA is simply something to be against, he believes.
“Today’s politics is an endless struggle of dividing into sides,” he laments. “Due to this extremist confrontation, effective politics is impossible.”
To try and address this problem, Jang has teamed up to form the K-Party with Park Se Il of Hansun Foundation, someone who is also trying to find some middle political ground, albeit with his roots on the right. It’s an invigorating mix, although there are distinct political differences between them. Can these be overcome while remaining rational? Jang certainly thinks so, saying, “Sometimes it will be Dr. Park, sometimes my opinion, and sometimes there will be a compromise plan.”
He continues, “I think that the (KORUS-)FTA is poorly written and incomplete, but in truth even if we debated over this for the whole night we still wouldn’t come up with a sensible plan. Sometimes compromise can be achieved, and sometimes one should just follow. But if reason is the basis then compromise is possible even between progressives and conservatives.”
Jang believes that the biggest overall problem for both progressives and conservatives is that they are not reading the changing of the times correctly. It is something which goes for North Korea, too.
Many of Jang’s comrades who were involved in demonstrations in the 70s and 80s are in the Democratic United Party fold now. He says that he has been approached to work with them on a number of occasions. However, the differences are too great on the basic recognition of what North Korea actually is.
“I am against the pro-North line. Right now the only way is for the South to absorb the North Korean system. Is feudalism possible? The Democratic Party says that unification by absorption is no good; then, what alternative would they like to suggest? As with this problem of national unification, I have chosen to discuss and communicate about these problems rationally.”
Asked whether he trusts the progressive opposition groups, he says, “They are not untrustworthy; we are just different.”
Talking about the Kim Jong Eun system after Kim Jong Il’s death, meanwhile, he says, “The military is loyal even to the Kim Jong Eun regime. It seems to be going stably, but North Korea’s future is very uncertain.”
“China knows that if it leaves Kim Jong Eun in place then it will be difficult to reform and open”, he points out. “If North Korea is to follow reform and opening, then those people who oversee North Korea’s closed policy need to be replaced. If China thinks this way then they need to change the regime and so cannot leave Kim Jong Eun in place.”
“If Kim Jong Eun reforms and the waves of liberalization and democracy enter North Korea, he would have to take responsibility for past human rights abuses. A regime with a legacy cannot successfully reform or open up. Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping was able to bring about a policy of reform by eliminating the Gang of Four who were in his way,” he adds.
“The People of North Korea are still too weak to democratize. However, only Pyongyang can be controlled, the rest of North Korea cannot, and North Korea is now a society where money solves everything, it is completely corrupt, so we cannot rule it out entirely. The next two to three years will be a critical period.”
As such, he concludes, “It would be best to clearly state that South Korea wants to talk with the North Korean regime and help the people. Ultimately, North Korea is afraid of North-South dialogue and cooperation. They want to put all the responsibility on South Korea and so South Korea must face them openly. That would accelerate the collapse of the North Korean regime.”
