Former Envoy Gallucci: "North Korea Should Not Conduct Nuclear Tests, South Korea and US Should Refrain from Military Drills"

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Robert Gallucci, former U.S. Special Representative for North Korea Nuclear Negotiations, stated on the 12th, “North Korea should refrain from ballistic missile and nuclear weapons tests, and the United States and South Korea should not conduct large-scale joint military exercises.”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

At a Korea-U.S. North Korea expert policy forum hosted via video conference by the Ministry of Unification on the same day, former Special Representative Gallucci said, “The Biden administration must ensure from the outset that an agreement is reached with North Korea so that neither side will provoke.”

He emphasized, “The negotiation process requires the trust of the people, whether it is North Korea, South Korea, or the United States, and it can only proceed when there are early substantive results.”

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Cheon Hae-sung, former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Unification, evaluated, “So far, both South Korea and the United States have been managing the situation steadily and calmly,” adding, “The current task is to manage this phase stably.”

Regarding the Korea-U.S. joint military exercises, former Vice Minister Cheon said, “There are concerns and issues raised, but they are being conducted in a form adjusted to the current situation,” and “It seems North Korea is also assessing this situation.” He added, “(Under the Biden administration) it is necessary to conduct a North Korea policy review as soon as possible to provide North Korea with expectations and prospects for problem resolution.”

Alex Wong, former U.S. State Department Deputy Special Representative for North Korea Policy, positively evaluated the Trump administration’s efforts to elicit North Korea’s willingness to engage in dialogue.

He diagnosed, “What is considered somewhat successful during the Trump administration was that, together with allies, they generated some form of movement within North Korea,” and “Kim Jong-un started summit diplomacy regardless.” He further predicted, “If there is no movement within North Korea, the relationship will stagnate and inevitably lead to the expansion of the North Korean nuclear program.”

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