hankyoreh

By Kang Tae-ho, senior staff writer

On Nov. 19, 2012, following his reelection as United States president, Barack Obama made a speech at Yanggon University, one of the most important sites in the democracy movement in Myanmar (also called Burma).

“To the leadership of North Korea, I have offered a choice: let go of your nuclear weapons and choose the path of peace and progress. If you do, you will find an extended hand from the United States of America,” Obama said during the speech.

In 2008, when Obama was running for president as the Democratic Party’s candidate, he criticized George Bush’s North Korea policy. Obama emphasized direct dialogue, saying that he would be willing to meet the leader of North Korea during his first year in office if he were to be elected.

And in 2009, Obama used his inaugural address to reach out to countries such as Venezuela and North Korea that had expressed opposition to the US. “We will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist,” Obama said.

During his speech in Myanmar, Obama said, “Today, I’ve come to keep my promise and extend the hand of friendship.”

The implication is that if the leaders of North Korea abandon their nuclear weapons and choose the path of peace and prosperity, they could also normalize relations with the US.

During the joint press conference that he held with South Korean President Park Geun-hye following their May 7 summit, Obama said, “Our two nations are prepared to engage with North Korea diplomatically and, over time, build trust.” Once again, he referred to Myanmar in this context.

Obama is sending a message toward North Korea. If Pyongyang follows the example of Myanmar, Obama says, the US is willing to give up its hostile North Korea policy.

This stance was also articulated in a speech entitled “The United States and the Asia-Pacific in 2013,” which Thomas Donilon, the National Security Advisor for the White House, made at the Asia Society on Mar. 11.

Myanmar has moved forward on the path to democracy and reform in a wide range of areas, including the release of political prisoners and other human rights improvements. But it does not seem that Obama views North Korea and Myanmar in exactly the same way.

Of course, Obama is not ruling out the possibility that North Korea could implement reforms including democracy and protecting human rights. However, he is urging the North, as he puts it, to put the priority on “meaningful steps to abide by its commitments and obligations, particularly the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”

Obama gave particular emphasis to “changes in behavior,” saying that “we haven’t seen actions on the part of the North Koreans that would indicate they’re prepared to move in a different direction.”

Along with this, Obama appeared to use the summit to send a message to North Korea that he would view a positive North Korea response to Park’s trust-building process for the Korean peninsula as one of the “meaningful steps” he has asked for.

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