hankyoreh

By Park Hyun, Washington correspondent

After returning to the US from the Sept. 18 1.5 track meeting in Beijing among public and private sector representatives from six-party talks members on North Korean denuclearization, Evans Revere did an email interview with the Hankyoreh’s Washington correspondent.

Revere is non-resident senior fellow at the Brookings Institute and former principal deputy assistant secretary for East Asian and pacific affairs under the Bill Clinton administration. He said that better ties between North Korea and the US can come through concrete steps by Pyongyang toward denuclearization.

Hankyoreh: What do you think of the outcomes of the forum marking the 10th anniversary of the six-party talks held in Beijing? What’s your take on this forum?

Evans Revere: The Track 1.5 seminar was a valuable opportunity to convey to the DPRK side our serious concerns that by its words and deeds over the past few years Pyongyang has rejected the central goal of the Six-Party Talks - denuclearization. We reminded the DPRK representatives that the path to better ties lies through their acceptance of the goals of the September 19, 2005 Joint Statement and through its taking concrete steps to implement the denuclearization commitment it made at that time.

Hani: Kim Kye-Gwan, the First Vice Foreign Minister of North Korea, said “We are ready to enter the six-party talks without preconditions.” What do you think of his remarks?

Revere: First Vice Foreign Minister Kim’s remarks do not constitute an adequate guarantee that Pyongyang seeks denuclearization or that it is prepared to fulfill the commitments it made to give up its nuclear weapons program. If North Korea is not ready to acknowledge and implement those commitments, reconvening denuclearization talks would have little meaning.

Hani: China’s foreign minister Wang Yi told in a Brooking Institute last Friday that North Korea has recently said it is ready to come back to 1 2005 commitment on giving up nuclear weapons, and to an agreement it reached with the United States in February last year on freezing its nuclear programs in exchange for food aid.

Revere: I participated in the recent seminar in Beijing and did not hear the DPRK side make any commitment to give up its nuclear weapons or to freeze its nuclear weapons program. If Foreign Minister Wang has received such commitments, I look forward to hearing the details.

Hani: What do you think about the possibility of resuming the talks with North Korea, considering your experience in this forum?

Revere: The Six-Party Talks are about denuclearization. North Korea has spent the last several years stating and demonstrating that it is determined to expand its nuclear weapons program, miniaturize those weapons, build missile delivery systems, test nuclear weapons, declare itself a nuclear weapons power, and threaten to attack the United States and other countries with nuclear weapons. There is no evidence that Pyongyang is prepared to reverse this behavior and implement its denuclearization commitments.

Hani: What measures are needed to resume the talks with North Korea?

Revere: The DPRK must demonstrate through words and actions that it is prepared to implement the commitments it has made to give up its nuclear weapons program.

Hani: Kim Kye-Gwan said in this seminar, “preconditions, set by South Korea and the United States, are in violation of the spirit of the Sept. 19 Joint Statement.” What’s your response to his stance?

Revere: The DPRK has decided to call the U.S. concerns and the U.S. requirement for clear words and deed “preconditions” for talks. I do not agree, but the fact remains that virtually every statement and action by Pyongyang in recent years has demonstrated its determination to become a nuclear weapons state, and now the DPRK claims that it supports the principle of denuclearization. We are more than justified in not accepting this statement at face value. The DPRK has violated both the letter and the spirit of the September 19, 2005 Joint Statement. It has stated on the record its intentions to keep its nuclear weapons. The United States and other members of the Six-Party process are more than justified in asking the DPRK to demonstrate its seriousness about denuclearization. It is that simple.

Hani: Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi recently asked State Secretary John Kerry to resume the six-party talks. What do you think of the stance of the United States about this proposal?

Revere: The United States certainly appreciates China’s efforts to resume multilateral talks aimed at denuclearization of North Korea, and Foreign Minister Wang Yi used his important remarks at the seminar to stress that the goal of the Six-Party Talks is North Korea’s denuclearization. However, reconvening denuclearization talks when one of the parties is not serious about the goal of the talks would not be productive. The United States is seeking concrete steps by the DPRK to demonstrate that Pyongyang shares and will move towards the goal of denuclearization. Unless and until the DPRK demonstrates such a commitment and takes appropriate actions, the United States is wise to stress that the time for renewed Six-Party Talks is not ripe.

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