[ISSUE TALK] Trump stresses denuclearization first, then lifting of santions for North Korea

  • 6 years ago
남북 전향적 변화, 북미는 신경전... 중재자 한국의 역할은 - 민정훈 교수

For more, we have joining us, Professor Min Jeong-hun from the Korea National Diplomatic Academy. Thank you for making the time to come in today.

My pleasure.

1 - Trump has now said that he wants to lift sanctions on North Korea, but that he won't do it, unless they denuclearize. Can we assume this is the same stance the U.S. has given to North Korea in their negotiations? Is it perhaps why negotiations have stalled?

2 - The Trump administration sent another message that they are serious about sanctions by imposing another set of sanctions on Russian firms that were said to be trading with North Korea. That's the third set of sanctions in one month. Do you think these sanctions will do much or are they more about sending a message?

3 - Moscow has vowed to respond to the U.S. sanctions, saying that the accusations of trade with North Korea are groundless. How do you think they will respond?

4 - A North Korean propaganda website released an editorial saying that the formal end to the Korean War would bring new progress to North Korea-U.S. relations. But they also said sanctions need to be dropped for that to happen as well. It seems like they are also trying to send a message, especially as there are rumours that Pompeo is set to visit Pyongyang soon as well.

5 - Trump is said to have spoken to Japan's Prime Minister Abe on the phone on Wednesday to discuss North Korea. What do you think that conversation was about?

6 - The first round of family reunions have concluded and the second are set to start on Friday. The reunions have only today been reported on by North Korean state news. It's been very muted in its coverage. There were only a couple of short paragraphs on it. Compared to the previous times, when coverage was daily and in far more detail, it's a surprising difference. Why do you think that is?

7 - Reports have emerged that say the South Korean military is considering removing the term 'our enemy' when describing North Korea in its official white paper that outlines the government's defense stance. Of course these are just reports, and it has not yet been officially announced, that's set to come in December. But despite some slight controversy this has caused, it's the not the first time South Korea has changed what it calls North Korea, is it?

8 - The reported change in North Korea's description seems to have come from the Panmunjom Declaration's pledge to eliminate military tension and conflict. But how significant is this change?

9 - The inter-Korean summit is set to come up in September some time, but there still seems to be some tension between South Korea and the U.S. about how to deal with North Korea. How do you think the Moon administration needs to move ahead?

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