"Atomic Talks with Next U.S. Admin. Not Preferable"

North Korea is conducting a risky strategy if it has decided that it would be more advantageous to negotiate the nuclear issue with the next U.S. administration, said Wendy Sherman, the former North Korea Policy Coordinator in the Bill Clinton administration on June 5.

At a special lecture hosted by the publicity office of the Korean Embassy in the U.S., former policy coordinator Sherman, pointing to North Korea’s failure to fulfill the 2•13 Agreement after giving the excuses of problems with the transfer of 25 million dollars from Banco Delta Asia, said, “It is possible that the North Korean leader Kim Jung Il has decided to wait for the next administration to come into power in the U.S., which is a risky strategy.”

“[In such case, the U.S.] will have a deeper mistrust toward North Korea, and the negotiations will be more difficult even though the Democratic Party may seize power, because it will be after a long time has passed and many things have happened,” she added. “Waiting will do no good for North Korea. It has to fulfill the 2•13 Agreement and trust U.S. promises to solve the BDA matter.”

sechepa@donga.com