‘2023 Korean Peninsula International Forum’… Einhorn: “Extended deterrence must be strengthened”
There is also the argument that “granting South Korea nuclear potential will help the United States.”
Minister of Unification Kim Young-ho criticized the repatriation of North Korean defectors in his keynote speech.
“How about allowing South Korea a potential nuclear capability to send a strong message to North Korea?”
At the ‘2023 Korean Peninsula International Forum’ held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, D.C. on the 6th (local time), Kim Woo-sang, a professor of political science and diplomacy at Yonsei University, was a senior member of the Brookings Institution Robert Einhorn, who participated in a discussion in the session ‘U.S.’s Future North Korea Policy’. I asked this question to the researcher.
Commissioner Einhorn, a former special assistant to the U.S. State Department for non-proliferation and disarmament, pointed out that the sanctions-oriented policy toward North Korea has reached its limits and efforts must be made to ease tensions, while at the same time, the U.S. needs to provide nuclear deterrence capabilities to its allies. He emphasized that we must always be ahead of North Korea in terms of nuclear capabilities.
Accordingly, if the goal is to deter North Korea, a question has arisen about granting South Korea potential nuclear development capabilities.
In accordance with the 2015 Korea-US nuclear agreement, Korea cannot reprocess spent nuclear fuel, and only low-enrichment of uranium to less than 20% is possible through consultation with the US. Accordingly, the argument that this is unfair to Japan, which has the potential to develop nuclear weapons and has been granted the right to re-employment for 30 years, has been raised early on in academic circles.
Commissioner Einhorn was in charge of sanctions against North Korea during the Barack Obama administration and was called the ‘Grim Reaper’, and he led the nuclear energy agreement with South Korea in 2015.
Commissioner Einhorn predicted that the United States was negative about allowing Korea to process nuclear fuel that would support its potential nuclear weapons development capabilities, and that this is also the case under the Joe Biden administration, and that there will be no significant changes even if the administration is changed. Instead, he repeatedly emphasized, “What the United States must do separately is to strengthen extended deterrence as much as possible.”
In response, Kim Jae-cheon, a professor at Sogang University’s Graduate School of International Studies, said, “The United States is South Korea’s most trusted ally, but its deterrence power is not our ability,” and “I think South Korea has the right to enrich uranium to the level of Japan.”
Professor Kim also mentioned that China and North Korea’s nuclear development is becoming more blatant and said, “Giving South Korea nuclear potential could be more helpful to the United States.”
Meanwhile, Minister of Unification Kim Young-ho criticized China’s issue of forcibly repatriating North Korean defectors in a keynote speech that day. The event was co-hosted by the Ministry of Unification, and Special Assistant to Minister Koh Young-hwan, who attended on behalf of Minister Kim, read the speech.
Minister Kim emphasized, “The number of North Korean defectors repatriated to North Korea from northeastern China is rapidly increasing,” and added, “We strongly urge the Chinese government to cooperate so that North Korean defectors can be protected in accordance with international law.”
[워싱턴=뉴시스]
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.