Andrew Kim: "North Korea's Enthusiasm for 'End-of-War Declaration' Seems Less Than Before"

Claims at the 'Hanmi Alliance Peace Conference'
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[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Andrew Kim, former head of the CIA Korea Mission Center, claimed that North Korea, which had previously shown a positive stance toward a declaration of the end of the war, now seems to have lost some of its enthusiasm.

Kim attended the "Korea-US Alliance Peace Conference" held at the Millennium Hilton Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 1st via video call, stating, "I am not sure if North Korea wants to actively pursue a declaration of the end of the war as before," adding, "(In the past) they were positive about the declaration of the end of the war, but now their enthusiasm has cooled." He was deeply involved in the North Korea-US negotiations from 2017 to 2018.

Kim said that the issue of the declaration of the end of the war should be discussed together with matters related to the stationing of US troops in South Korea and the maintenance of the United Nations Command. He said, "The declaration of the end of the war is a recognition of the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and a foothold for reducing hostility between South and North Korea to move toward a permanent peace regime," adding, "At the same time, it is related to issues such as the stationing of US troops in South Korea, and the declaration of the end of the war should be discussed together with these issues."

He further stated, "If the declaration of the end of the war is hastily pushed forward before related issues are resolved, the outcome could go in an unexpected direction," adding, "North Korea needs to present a detailed denuclearization plan before this can be discussed." This is a claim that North Korea's denuclearization measures must precede the declaration of the end of the war.

He also shared difficulties encountered during the denuclearization negotiations with North Korea. He said, "North Korea argued at the negotiation table that the declaration of the end of the war, the opening of a liaison office, and the lifting of economic sanctions proposed by the US are reversible, but the measures we take to remove missiles or weapons are irreversible, and they asked, 'What will happen to us if you (the US) go back to the previous state?'"

He predicted that the Biden administration would re-examine North Korea's human rights issues. Kim said, "The US and South Korea have not focused much on North Korean human rights," adding, "When President-elect Joe Biden takes office, there will be a renewed focus on North Korean human rights," and said, "It is time for the South Korean government to consider whether to align with the new administration's direction."

Meanwhile, Mark Lippert, former US Ambassador to South Korea, who participated in the conference that day, emphasized the need to expand cooperation areas within the Korea-US alliance. He said, "The Korea-US alliance should now expand beyond North Korea and the Korean Peninsula to the Indo-Pacific," adding, "The areas of cooperation should also be broadened to include not only security and economy but also cyber, public health, energy, and environment."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.