Experts Deplore North’s Human Rights

An international conference for analyzing the North Korean nuclear issue and Korea-U.S. relations and seeking alternatives was held from November 1 to November 2 (local time) at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) in Atlanta.

In the symposium held under the theme “Korea—Challenges of the 21st Century,” 29 experts from Korea and the U.S. participated as speakers and discussants. The event was hosted by the Georgia Tech Sam Nunn School of International Affairs, funded by the Korea Foundation and the Korea Economic Institute (KEI) in Washington, and sponsored by Dong-A Ilbo.

Helen-Louise Hunter, a lawyer who served as a North Korea analyst at the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) for 23 years, said in her keynote speech, “Human rights in North Korea are in an abhorrent situation tantamount to the Holocaust and should not be neglected any longer. We hope Koreans will pay more attention to the North Korean human rights issue.” Dr. Ralph Hassig, an adjunct professor at the University of Maryland, asserted, “North Korea is a collapsed nation [in terms of institution and organization].”

Under the theme, “Disputes in Korean Society over North Korea’s Nuclear Test,” President Kim Hak-jun of the Dong-A Ilbo also made a presentation on November 2, saying, “After the North’s nuclear test, some arguments emerged in Korean society regarding an armed attack against North Korea, independent nuclearization by South Korea and praise of North Korea’s nuclear test. All these, however, are nothing but minority views,” he stated. “The majority believes that on the basis of the Korea-U.S. alliance and cooperation from the UN, we should make a diplomatic, stick-and-carrot response to deal with the issue peacefully, even though this will lead us to a long and bumpy road.”

An Interview with John Endicott-

After the two-day conference came to an end, Dong-A Ilbo had an interview with Dr. John Endicott, the director of the Georgia Tech Center for International Strategy (CIS). He is a world-renown denuclearization activist and Korean Peninsula specialist who led the Limited Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone for Northeast Asia (LNWFZ-NEA) campaign, which focuses on making a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula, for the last 15 years.

Endicott said in the interview, “Now it is time for all countries involved to make a responsible act for substantial progress, not for showing off to the world.”

He went on to say, “When the six-party talks resume, please begin by drawing an action plan on the objectives suggested in the Beijing Joint Declaration on September 15 last year. There are lots of issues for which we have to make a step-by-step approach, but agreements on each of them will eventually lead to a path to canceling the North Korean nuclear program. These are very complicated tasks that cannot be done overnight, but I believe we will be able to make significant progress if we make a series of bilateral and multilateral negotiations. We should first reach an agreement on any of the easiest issues.”

The Dong-A Ilbo: What would be one thing that we should first reach an agreement on?

Endicott: The U.S. should guarantee more clearly from the beginning that it will not attack North Korea. Apparently, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is thinking about the survival and handover of the regime. In order to persuade the North back to the international community, we need normalization of economic ties with it. I hope both the U.S. and North Korea will become more flexible. The U.S. should make the UN sanctions against North Korea one track, but at the same time, it should let other participants of the six-party talks pay attention to demands from the North.

The Dong-A Ilbo: We heard that back in the Cuban Missile Crisis, you were an officer in charge of setting the target. A naval blockade is again talked about regarding the current North Korean nuclear crisis. What do you think of the two crises in comparison?

Endicott: They have a few things in common, but back in 1962 there were thousands of nuclear missiles ready to be launched. A single miscalculation could have jeopardized the entire human civilization. Right now the situation is not that serious, but in the long run the North Korean nuclear crisis might destroy stability in Northeast Asia. In this regard, I am worried about [the North Korean nuclear issue] as I did about the Cuban Missile Crisis. If we fail to address the issue, Japan might go nuclear. This will affect China and then South Korea and Taiwan. Therefore, we should take the North Korean nuclear issue as our top priority.

The Dong-A Ilbo: Except for the special case of the Republic of South Africa, historically there has been no country that successfully conducted a nuclear test and then voluntarily abandoned it. What if the North ultimately does not give up its nuclear program?

Endicott: An unnecessary arms race will take place among all countries in Northeast Asia, including North Korea itself. Though I cannot assure it, I believe there does remain a possibility that the North might abandon its nuclear program.

sechepa@donga.com