North Korea is rejecting the U.S. demand for a nuclear list, by saying, “It is no different from request for a list of places as targets that you will launch attack at,” Seoul National University emeritus professor Yoon Young-kwan said. Citing informed sources, Yoon, who served as Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister during the liberal Roh Moo-hyun administration, made the remark in an interview conducted on October 29 marking the launch of "Wooahan" (Beautiful Korean Peninsula for Our Children), a Korean Peninsula forum platform for youth run by Dong-A Media Group.
The former Foreign Affairs Minister said the fundamental reason for delays in reaching agreement at working-level talks between the U.S. and North Korea for a second Washington-Pyongyang summit lies in (Pyongyang’s) distrust in the U.S. “Washington should take political measures required to build up trust, while maintaining sanctions against Pyongyang,” Yoon said. He singled out measures, such as opening of a liaison office, exchange in sports and art, and training programs for invited (North Korean) students and bureaucrats.
Korea University Professor Hyun In-taek, who served as Unification Minister during the conservative Lee Myung-bak administration, also held an interview with Wooahan on October 30. “We are now in a situation where the North has no reason to make concessions to the U.S. and to speed up talks that could be detrimental to its interest,” Hyun said. “However, the U.S. as a superpower can strategically reevaluate the situation and change the direction anytime. If Kim Jong Un disregards this, a crisis can come again.”
Wooahan is a new online space for communication between different generations wherein related professional journalists with master's and doctoral degrees and experts exchange views and knowledge about Korean Peninsula issues with youths and students. It is also a Korean Peninsula version of the "youth and future," which Dong-A Media Group has been constantly promoting.
Suk-Ho Shin kyle@donga.com