Expert's take on inter-Korean peace declaration
- 6 years ago
Let's get an expert's take on all the developments of the past 24 hours or so.
We are going to take an in-depth look at the inter-Korean summit, the Panmunjom declaration and the prospects going forward,.. especially in light of the upcoming summit between the United States and North Korea.
I'm delighted to be joined in the studio by Robert Kelly, Professor of Political Science at Pusan National University.
Good afternoon.
There's a lot to talk about. No matter how you look at it,... what we saw on Friday was quite amazing... and if the results are implemented the Korean peninsula will never be the same. Now you've had some time to digest it, what's your assessment?
I was reading a few of your pre-summit tweets yesterday and it was clear you weren't overly positive about what could be achieved through the summit.
I’ll quote you if you don’t mind… you said "The divisions between North Korea, and South Korea and the U.S. are still huge. The likelihood we'll be back to where we were a few years ago - sanctions, missile defense, the China track, etc - is higher than anyone wants to admit.”
You also said expectations have to be managed, essentially that people shouldn't get too carried away. Has anything happened within the past 24 hours to change your mind?
On the denuclearization aspect,... North Korea -- if it's serious -- would presumably want to do it slowly while it's rewarded in the process, but the U.S. wants action fast. Hypothetically speaking,... if you were put in charge of overseeing it, how would you go about it?
There were two other things that came out of the declaration that were interesting. One it talks about unification, but no real discussion of what that really looks like. And the another point that jumped out at me was the potential for three-way talks including the U.S. OR four-way talks with China as well,... no mention of Russia or Japan. Tokyo, in particular, is going to feel frozen out here. What are those thoughts on those two points...
A lot of people I spoke to yesterday were quite impressed with Kim Jong-un... and that is probably exactly what he had hoped for. I think it's important for all of us to keep in mind that he's the leader of a reprehensible regime with an awful human rights record, runs political prisoner camps, has his half-brother killed with nerve agent etc, etc... With all that's happened over the past 24 hours, can Kim and North Korea be trusted now? They've gone back on basically every agreement they've made in the past...
Critics say that, by sitting down with Kim, President Moon and then President Trump, are giving Kim everything he wants …which is the legitimacy he's long hungered for. Also with all the talk of denuclearization and the end of the Korean War,... it leaves some of us asking.... if the regime has completed its weapons development as it claims -- a mission they've put before all else, starved their people for -- why would they suddenly says "Ok, we are going
We are going to take an in-depth look at the inter-Korean summit, the Panmunjom declaration and the prospects going forward,.. especially in light of the upcoming summit between the United States and North Korea.
I'm delighted to be joined in the studio by Robert Kelly, Professor of Political Science at Pusan National University.
Good afternoon.
There's a lot to talk about. No matter how you look at it,... what we saw on Friday was quite amazing... and if the results are implemented the Korean peninsula will never be the same. Now you've had some time to digest it, what's your assessment?
I was reading a few of your pre-summit tweets yesterday and it was clear you weren't overly positive about what could be achieved through the summit.
I’ll quote you if you don’t mind… you said "The divisions between North Korea, and South Korea and the U.S. are still huge. The likelihood we'll be back to where we were a few years ago - sanctions, missile defense, the China track, etc - is higher than anyone wants to admit.”
You also said expectations have to be managed, essentially that people shouldn't get too carried away. Has anything happened within the past 24 hours to change your mind?
On the denuclearization aspect,... North Korea -- if it's serious -- would presumably want to do it slowly while it's rewarded in the process, but the U.S. wants action fast. Hypothetically speaking,... if you were put in charge of overseeing it, how would you go about it?
There were two other things that came out of the declaration that were interesting. One it talks about unification, but no real discussion of what that really looks like. And the another point that jumped out at me was the potential for three-way talks including the U.S. OR four-way talks with China as well,... no mention of Russia or Japan. Tokyo, in particular, is going to feel frozen out here. What are those thoughts on those two points...
A lot of people I spoke to yesterday were quite impressed with Kim Jong-un... and that is probably exactly what he had hoped for. I think it's important for all of us to keep in mind that he's the leader of a reprehensible regime with an awful human rights record, runs political prisoner camps, has his half-brother killed with nerve agent etc, etc... With all that's happened over the past 24 hours, can Kim and North Korea be trusted now? They've gone back on basically every agreement they've made in the past...
Critics say that, by sitting down with Kim, President Moon and then President Trump, are giving Kim everything he wants …which is the legitimacy he's long hungered for. Also with all the talk of denuclearization and the end of the Korean War,... it leaves some of us asking.... if the regime has completed its weapons development as it claims -- a mission they've put before all else, starved their people for -- why would they suddenly says "Ok, we are going