hankyoreh

Kim Young-Nam

Amid reports that Kim Jong-il, North Korea’s National Defense Commission chairman, may be seriously ill, North Korea and the United States have voiced a guarded optimism about the future of the stalled six-party negotiations on the North’s nuclear weapons program.

In an interview with Japan’s Kyodo News agency in Pyongyang on September 10, Kim Yong-nam, the chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme People’s Assembly and the North’s second in command, showed a positive attitude towards the six-party talks, saying, “If time goes by and we continue to make efforts to find a way, we could resolve this.” As for the U.S. government’s delay in removing North Korea from its list of state sponsors of terrorism, the North’s second in command said, “That is also related to the domestic politics of the United States. We are watching the situation.”

However, Kim accused the United States of “not implementing an agreement to remove our nation from the list of state sponsors of terrorism,” when asked about North Korea’s move to halt its work of disabling its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon and reassembling the reactor. “When it comes to implementing agreements under the six-party talks, we are two steps ahead the United States,” Kim said.

In Washington, White House spokeswoman Dana Perino referred to Kim’s comments as a “positive” sign. “I think that we are looking at the comments today from the (North’s) second in command as positive ones that we can hopefully continue to work to bring them into compliance with what they agreed to do,” Perino said at a regular press briefing. “North Korea knows exactly what they need to do, which is to establish a verification protocol so that we could then take the next step that we promised to do, which is to take them off the terrorism list.”

On the same day, in an interview with Japan’s Yomiuri Shimbun and other media, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, Washington’s chief negotiator on the six-party talks, hinted the United States could make a concession to North Korea. In the interview, Hill said he wants to be “flexible” in terms of the verification format, though there could be no compromise on what is verified.

In the meantime, National Intelligence Service chief Kim Sung-ho reported on September 10 that the North Korean leader “could stand if assisted,” according to a ruling party lawmaker who attended the parliamentary briefing by the NIS chief. The lawmaker, Lee Cheol-woo, told The Hankyoreh by phone that North Korean leader Kim is “recovering quickly.”

A source at the ruling Grand National Party, who is familiar with the internal affairs of the NIS, said, “On August 24, after Kim Jong-il collapsed, he received pledges of loyalty from senior members of the North Korean military such as Jo Myong-rok, the first vice-chairman of the National Defense Commission and the director of the Korean People’s Army General Political Bureau; Kim Young-choon, the vice chairman of the National Defense Commission; Kim Gyeok-shik, the military chief of staff; and Kim Il-cheol, the minister of the People’s Armed Forces. Based on that information, I believe that the NIS thinks Chairman Kim is currently in control of the North Korean military.”

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