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Vincent Brooks

On Apr. 3, Vincent Brooks, former commander of ROK-US Combined Forces Command, spoke of the need to establish an international economic development fund for North Korea in order to incentivize the North to denuclearize. It was particularly interesting that Brooks, who doubled as the commander of US Forces Korea (USFK), mentioned economic measures as a way of moving toward the North’s denuclearization.

Speaking during a forum called “New Steps on the Korean Peninsula,” held at the Korea Society in New York, Brooks said that North Korea needed to be able to see with its own eyes that funds were in place to aid its economic development, provided that it denuclearized, South Korea’s Yonhap News reported.

Even while maintaining the UN Security Council’s sanctions, Brooks said, the international community should set forth a blueprint for North Korea’s economic development to encourage the North to take meaningful steps toward denuclearization. The North wouldn’t be allowed to touch the money until the goal of denuclearization had been achieved, Brooks explained, arguing that the plan for economic development should be proposed now, but its implementation should wait until denuclearization.

Brooks also said that China shouldn’t enjoy any privileges in North Korea’s economic development. Instead, he advised, the North’s future and economic development should be shepherded by the international community, with a central role reserved for South Korea. As for security guarantees for the North Korean regime, Brooks suggested thinking about economic guarantees, and not only physical and military guarantees.

Brooks emphasized that South Korea needs to play an instrumental role in reviving the momentum for North Korea-US negotiations, which have been challenged by the failure of their second summit, held in Hanoi at the end of February, to result in an agreement. He suggested that the inter-Korean military agreement signed on Sept. 19, 2018, be quickly implemented and that South Korea take the lead in framing a concrete plan for North Korea’s economic development while pushing for a declaration that would close the curtain on their hostile relationship.

While addressing South Korea and the US’ defense cost-sharing agreement, which is only valid for one year as of 2019, Brooks said that a one-year contract was too short and that the period should be lengthened to ensure stability from political factors.

With a term of service in USFK in the 1980s, Brooks is regarded as being quite knowledgeable about Korea. In April 2016, he became the first African-American to serve as the commander of ROK-US Combined Forces Command, a position that he held until November 2018.

By Hwang Joon-bum, Washington correspondent

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