N Korea in U-turn on weapons
NORTH Korea will immediately suspend nuclear and missile tests and scrap its nuclear test site and instead pursue economic growth and peace, the North’s state media said yesterday, before planned summits with South Korea and the US.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his country no longer needed to conduct nuclear tests or intercontinental ballistic missile tests because it had completed its goal of developing the weapons, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said.
It was the first time Kim had directly addressed his position on North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme before planned summits with South Korean President Moon Jae-in next week and US President Donald Trump late next month or in early June.
The pledge to halt the development of nuclear weapons, initiated by his grandfather, would mean a significant reversal for the young leader, now 34, who has staked his security on his nuclear arsenal and spent years celebrating such weapons as an integral part of his regime’s legitimacy and power.
A testing freeze and commitment to close the test site alone would fall short of Washington’s demand that Pyongyang completely dismantle all of its nuclear weapons and missiles.
But announcing the concessions now, rather than during talks, shows Kim is serious about denuclearisation talks, some experts say.
“The northern nuclear test ground of the DPRK will be dismantled to transparently guarantee the discontinuance of the nuclear test,” KCNA said. The North’s official name is the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK).
The Pyunggye-ri site is North Korea’s only known nuclear test site, where all of its six underground tests were conducted.
Trump welcomed the statement. “North Korea has agreed to suspend all Nuclear Tests and close up a major test site. This is very good news for North Korea and the World – big progress! Look forward to our Summit,” Trump said on Twitter.
South Korea said the North’s decision signified “meaningful” progress toward denuclearisation of the peninsula and would create favourable conditions for successful meetings with it and the US.
China, North Korea’s sole major ally, which has nevertheless been frustrated by its defiant development of weapons, welcomed the move, saying it would ease tension. “The Chinese side believes North Korea’s decision will help ameliorate the situation on the peninsula.”
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe also welcomed the statement but said it must lead to action. “What’s important is that this leads to complete, verifiable denuclearisation. I want to emphasise this,” Abe said.
The US, Japan and South Korea have historically been the main targets of North Korea’s anger.
Australia and Britain were also cautious. The British government said it was a positive step and hoped it indicated “an effort to negotiate in good faith”. Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop said “verifiable steps” would be needed to ensure testing had been halted.
“We’re all looking for evidence that Kim is really serious about negotiations, and announcements like this certainly suggest he is, and that he is trying to make clear to the world that he is,” said David Wright, co-director of the Global Security Programme at the Union of Concerned Scientists.
North Korea has said its nuclear and missile programmes were necessary deterrents against US hostility. It has conducted numerous missile tests with the aim of being able to hit the US.
The tests and escalating rhetoric between Trump and Kim raised fears of war until, in a new year speech, the North Korean leader called for a reduction in tension. In February, he sent a delegation to the Winter Olympics in the South.
Nam Sung-wook, professor of North Korean Studies at Korea University in Seoul, said it was “sensational” that Kim had personally declared plans to suspend nuclear development but added that his remarks left questions.
“It still does not seem clear if it means whether the North will just not pursue further development of its nuclear programmes in the future, or whether they will completely shut down ‘all’ nuclear facilities. And what are they going to do with their existing weapons?”
Many US experts doubt Kim’s sincerity about denuclearising, viewing the recent flurry of diplomacy as a ploy to win relief from economic sanctions.
Koh Yu-hwan, professor of North Korean Studies at Dongguk University in Seoul, said: “Kim is just saying that now that the nuclear development is complete, he will put all the efforts toward building an economy.” – Reuters/african News Agency (ANA)