hankyoreh

“I’ve made my choice. It’s his choice to make.”

U.S. President George W. Bush, speaking at a White House press conference on Aug. 31 and sounding sure that the North Korean nuclear problem would be resolved during his term, urged Kim Jong-il, the leader of the communist state, to make a decision. His remarks are not surprising at all. During the ROK-U.S. summit that was held on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Hanoi in 2006, Bush reportedly said that if North Korea were to abandon its nuclear programs, he would recognize Kim’s regime.

But this time, the meaning of Bush’s remarks is different in that he has expressed his intentions at a press conference just ahead of the APEC summit set to open on Sept. 8 in Sydney, Australia. A government official noted that it was important that President Bush had made such remarks publicly. Bush has many diplomatic problems regarding Iraq and Iran and the press conference was significant in many aspects, such as its timing and the content of what Bush said. He said, “we are spending a lot of time” on the North Korean issue.

It is also remarkable that Bush disclosed an open message to the North Korean leader at a press conference, rather than waiting for the upcoming summit with his South Korean counterpart, which will be held on Sept. 7. His remarks can be interpreted to mean that the second round of working-group talks to normalize North Korea-U.S. relations in Geneva on Sept. 1-2 will produce results.

Professor Kim Yeon-cheol of Korea University said, “President Bush’s will has already been proven in the process of solving the Banco Delta Asia problem. It is time for North Korea to make a choice and, in this sense, disabling North Korea’s nuclear programs is decisively important in solving the problem.”

By saying, “I’ve made my choice,” Bush seems to be indicating that he has made the political decisions necessary to normalize relations with North Korea. It is as though he is sending the message to North Korea that if Kim Jong-il decides to give up his nuclear programs and carries out his part of the bargain, the United States will normalize relations with the communist state and will not exclude the idea of having a summit with Kim in the final stage.

In the short term, if North Korea disables its nuclear facilities and reports its nuclear programs, including the enriched uranium program, as agreed upon in the Feb. 13 agreement, the United States can remove North Korea from its list of State Sponsors of Terror and abolish the law on trade with enemy states.

It is highly possible that Bush has taken such a positive position because he wants to pull off a diplomatic coup before the end of his term so as to satisfy domestic political concerns. As he is now in the unique situation of having failed repeatedly on almost all diplomatic and military fronts, including Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Palestine, the North Korean nuclear problem is the only one in which he has any chance of success. The Iraq problem, in particular, is a serious issue in U.S. domestic politics to the degree that Washington once raised the possibility that Bush would not participate in the APEC summit in Sydney.

Kim Seong-bae of the Institute for National Security Strategy said, “Former U.S. President Clinton was unable to conclude efforts to normalize relations between Pyongyang and Washington. Therefore, Bush may want to put a period on the North Korean nuclear problem within his term. The situation surrounding the U.S. presidential election, slated for next year, and the response of Democratic Party, will likely be important variables.”

As urged by Bush, it is Kim Jong-il’s turn to suggest an “answer.” As Kim hardly makes any remarks in the press, he is expected to present the “answer” during the second inter-Korean summit to be held in Pyongyang from Oct. 2-4. As such, the historic South-North summit has become all the more important.