[imText1]The Korean Central News Agency reported that, in the meeting with Hu Jintao, Kim Jong Il said, “We will put efforts to overcome the difficulties created during the six-party talks with the comrades in China.”
The two leaders agreed that the continuance of the six party talks will ultimately contribute to a peaceful resolution of the nuclear problem.
The “difficulties” Kim Jong Il mentioned seems to refer to the American economic sanction due to the counterfeit dollars. Kim Jong Il’s statement could be interpreted as a request for assistance from the Chinese regarding the US economic sanction.
The Americans consider the North Korean crime of printing counterfeit dollars as a heavy crime against the American law and instead of pursuing diplomatic solutions regarding the problem or attempting to solve it under the rule of law. It maintains the position that the counterfeit dollar problem is one separated from the six-party talks and other diplomatic issues.
Counterfeit Dollars – Nuclear Problem, Legal Connection Impossible
However, Kim Jong Il said he will overcome these “difficulties” with the Chinese comrades. This means he will attempt to solve the counterfeit dollar problem “diplomatically” with China. For example, as Kim Kye Gwan once requested, it will attempt to request a lift of the economic sanction in exchange for a promise that it will never happen again and punish the individuals and companies that committed the wrongdoing.
However, according to major defector testimonies and previous cases where the cases were caught on site regarding the counterfeit dollars, it had been clear that it was the North Korean government that had been printing counterfeit dollars. There is no such thing as private companies in North Korea and individuals are simply incapable of importing counterfeiting machines, ink, and paper.
The American public broadcasting NPR reported on the 18th that fourteen government agencies including the US State Department discovered that the North Koreans produced counterfeit dollars from the government side and have secured evidence to support such claims. The report also stated that there is a difference in opinion on the matter between the hard-liners and soft-liners within the State Department. The soft-liners are holding the position that based on such information, they must pressure North Korea to abandon the nuclear weapons, while the hard-liners are insisting for regime change.
However, it seems that even within the US, argument for solving the nuclear problem and the counterfeit dollar problem is in connection with each other. Larry Allen Niksch, a Specialist in Asian Affairs with the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress, said, “Even if the US accepts the argument that individuals committed such crimes, there is a complex legal process to be followed. The US will request to hand over the criminals and legal consequences to follow thereafter.”
Soft-liners and Hard-liners Will Pursue Legal Solution
The US Department of the Treasury has the right to investigate the North Korean counterfeit dollar problem. The US government, after its establishment, granted such rights to secure preventing counterfeiting and management of unifying money even in the times of chaos during the American civil war. For this reason, it has been known that top intellectuals were positioned in the office of the department and the guards had the best ability of shooting. For this reason, even now, the guards of the the Department of the Treasury have the tradition of taking a part in patrolling the While House.
For this reason, even if the soft-liners in the US State Department insist on connecting the nuclear issue and the counterfeit problem, the the Department of the Treasury will have no choice but to follow the American law. Legally, it is impossible to connect the two issues together. The Department of the Treasury and the judicial authorities will have to follow the procedure of investigating the background of the production of the counterfeit dollar, used and disregard the machinery used, those involved in the production and pursue legal solutions.
In this case, North Korea’s attempt to solve the problem diplomatically is either the North Korean state does not understand what is going on, or the idea came solely from Kim Jong Il. Of course, It will be impossible for the Department of the Treasury and the judicial authorities to investigate in North Korea. Yet, pursuing a tail-cutting approach of diplomatic solution is also impossible.
Ultimately, according to its law, the US will deal with the nuclear problem and counterfeit dollar matter separately. Kim Jong Il has fallen into his own trap. Although Kim Jong Il will complain to Bush why he cannot solve such a matter on his own, that is the reality of a constitutional democracy.
