John Bolton, who served as White House National Security Advisor in the Donald Trump administration, said about the ‘intermediate steps’ in North Korea’s denuclearization recently mentioned by senior White House officials, “The approach to North Korea such as ‘action for action’ and ‘intermediate steps’ gives Kim Jong-un more time. “It only earns us money,” he criticized.
Former aide Bolton said in an interview with the Voice of America (VOA) on the 12th, “(The intermediate stage of denuclearization) has been attempted several times over the past 30 years, but has always failed, the so-called ‘action for action’ (a method of immediately compensating North Korea’s step-by-step actions). “It’s just a return to approach,” he said.
He emphasized that North Korea’s denuclearization was approached in an ‘action-for-action’ manner from the Clinton administration to the Trump administration, but ultimately North Korea’s nuclear weapons capabilities were advanced.
Former aide Bolton said, “What North Korea wants most is freedom from economic constraints, and they will promise a lot to get it,” but pointed out, “But they do not keep their promises.”
He compared economic incentives, such as easing sanctions against North Korea and providing economic support, to a ‘sales fee’ (front-end load) paid first, and denuclearization results to a ‘back-end load’ paid last, saying, “North Korea’s “It is not surprising that economic benefits are expanded but denuclearization is not achieved,” he said.
He argued that North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is not for defensive purposes, and that “by possessing nuclear weapons, it can threaten to use nuclear weapons against US forces in South Korea, Japan, and Guam and demand the withdrawal of US forces.”
He continued, “We acknowledge the announcement of trilateral cooperation between Korea, the United States, and Japan by U.S. President Biden, South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeol, and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida,” and added, “Such activities could provide a practical deterrent against North Korea and China.”
Former aide Bolton predicted that if former President Trump were to come back to power, he would likely adopt a similar approach to North Korea as an ‘intermediate stage’, and emphasized that South Korea should build a personal bond with former President Trump in preparation for this.
He said, “Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was very concerned about the issue of Japanese abductions during the first term of the Trump administration, and so he was very close to former President Trump. “Korea should also take a similar approach,” he suggested.
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.