korean unification studies

The Korea Times is running with an article ‘Bush would meet with NK leader’  by Jung Sung-Ki that explores the possibility of George W. Bush meeting Kim Jong-Il before the end of his presidential term. The source for the article is an ‘unidentified US diplomat’ in Washington interviewed by the Kyunghyang Shinmun.

The article gives examples of the progress being made in US-DPRK relations, both through progress at the Six Party Talks and in sporting, cultural and academic exchange. The up beat assesment provides a very positive account of progress…

Time for a reality check: Implementation of the agreement reached at the Six Party Talks on 13 February 2007 has only just begun. Indeed, timeframes have already been broken and progress is stalled on several key issues, including accountability for nuclear programs and kidnapped Japanese citizens. Implementation of the agreement is still far from the key goal of complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear programs.

This is not Libya - this is North Korea. The North Korean nuclear program has a long history that is not only steeped in the scientific community built up to support it, but also in the civilian and political leadership. To the civilian and political leadership nuclear weapons ended the Japanese occupation that decades of independence struggle could not.

For the civilian and political leadership nuclear weapons today prevent external interference and sustain internal pride. Giving up nuclear deterence is a pre-cursor to opening up North Korea and receiving international assistance. Opening up North Korea is not an option for regime survival.

Until these ideas change, aren’t we getting ahead of ourselves thinking about a meeting between George W. Bush and Kim Jong-Il???