“North Korea must acknowledge that it actually possesses nuclear weapons… Disarmament is more realistic than CVID.”
An expert suggested that the U.S. government should shift its future policy toward North Korea from denuclearization to a focus on disarmament.
Lee Yong-seok, a senior researcher at the Foreign Policy Research Institute (FPRI) and former member of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), pointed out this in an article titled ‘United States and North Korea: A Look at Disarmament and Reduction’ posted on the institute’s website this month.
In the article, he said, “Denuclearization has been the U.S. policy toward North Korea since the 1990s, but each administration has failed to curb North Korea’s development, testing, and export of nuclear weapons and missile technology.” He added, “The U.S. must shift its policy focus from denuclearization to disarmament and reduction.” “He said.
He pointed out that the possibility of North Korea actually denuclearizing is unrealistic when it has already conducted six nuclear tests from 2006 to 2017. Rather, he said, “North Korea’s nuclear reserves are growing larger and its strategic weapons capabilities are improving.”
In addition, “North Korea has not conducted a nuclear test for seven years, but it regularly tests missiles to deliver them,” he said. “In 2022, North Korea conducted 68 missile tests, which far exceeds the 25 tests in 2019.” “It’s a record,” he said.
In this situation, his view is that the United States and its allies’ repeated statements of condemnation, sanctions, and exercises to show force are ineffective. In particular, he said that not only the United States but also South Korea does not want to use force considering the risk to its citizens or economic repercussions.
Moreover, in a situation where cooperation from Russia and China cannot be expected for North Korea’s denuclearization, “the United States and its allies must shift their policy focus from denuclearization to arms control (disarmament) and reduction.” The first step, he said, is to “politically accept that North Korea is in fact a country that possesses nuclear weapons.”
Senior researcher Lee also said, “It is very difficult to persuade North Korea to dismantle part of its nuclear program, but it is more realistic than the complete, irreversible and verifiable denuclearization (CVID) that the United States insisted on during the six-party talks,” and “demanding that North Korea give up its nuclear weapons.” “What we are doing is asking the Kim regime to give up its basis of legitimacy,” he said.
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.