hankyoreh

Park Han-sik, 67, a North Korea expert at the University of Georgia, gave a special lecture for officials at the National Unification Advisory Council in Seoul on November 23. After the lecture, Professor Park, who has visited North Korea more than 40 times and just returned from a visit to Pyongyang November 18 to 21, held a press conference.

At the lecture to the unification council, Park said North Korea will give up its nuclear weapons program, citing three reasons. First, if North Korea abandons its nuclear weapons and facilities, North Korea can rest assured that this will not damage its nuclear ambitions, as Pyongyang will still retain its nuclear scientists and other materials.

Second, said Professor Park, the time is right for Pyongyang to give up its nuclear weapons because North Korea's small amount of nuclear bombs will lose their usability if the North's nuclear test ignites a nuclear arms race in Northeast Asia, citing the fact that Japan and Taiwan could arm themselves with stronger and more efficient nuclear bombs.

Third, the late North Korean founder Kim Il-sung had previously said that he wanted a nuclear-free Korean peninsula. In North Korea, Kim Il-sung's teachings are still valid, Professor Park said.

Also, Professor Park said the United Nations Security Council's resolutions against North Korea are a dilemma. If all UN nations follow the resolutions' sanctions closely, we cannot rule out the possibility of war, he said. For example, North Korea will not accept a Japanese Coast Guard ship searching a North Korean vessel, Park said. "If a physical clash occurs, it may lead to war," he said.

However, if the resolution is not implemented in full, a nuclear arms race in the region, may occur, especially for Japan, the professor said. As a result, the UN resolution is a perfect failure created by the U.S., he said. "The resolution should not have been made," Park said. The resolution was a result of three misconceptions from Western society, he continued: North Korean leader Kim Jong-il is insane, the North Korean regime will soon collapse, and North Korea might respond if multilateral parties apply pressure.

In the press conference that followed, Professor Park said that North Korea is optimistic about the result of the U.S. mid-term elections, and expressed its willingness to hold unofficial talks with Democrats, including Democratic Senator Joseph Biden, the likely future chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Professor Park said that, if it is possible, it may take one-and-a-half months for the unofficial meeting to materialize. "The appropriate form of the unofficial meeting would be a three-party talk among South Korea, the U.S., and North Korea."

Park added that North Korea has a great interest in South Korea's presidential election next year. "If the next administration is a conservative one, [North Korea] may see inter-Korean relations retreat for decades. However, it is unthinkable that North Korea would be able to influence politics in the South."

Please direct questions or comments to [englishhani@hani.co.kr]