South Korean Ambassador Publishes Article in Washington Post Saying to Trust North Korea This Time

The South Korean ambassador to the US, Cho Yoon-je recently published an article in the Washington Post pretty much saying this time things are different with North Korea:

When North Korea announced last Wednesday that it was postponing high-level inter-Korea talks and might reconsider taking part in the planned summit with President Trump, pundits were quick to say North Korea was up to its old tricks. But my memory went back to a different moment. I recalled my days as a young economist at the International Monetary Fund in the late 1980s when Washington was debating the gloomy prospects of the Cold War. It was impossible to imagine that anything like peace could emerge during that dark time.

Today, the same pall is hovering over Washington regarding the seemingly dimmed hopes for the denuclearization of North Korea. One Korean expert pointed out to me that such skepticism in Washington is based on long-established habit; the world has tried everything, he noted, and Pyongyang has not given up its nuclear weapons no matter what. It is hard to argue against this viewpoint given North Korea’s record. And yet I would still contend that this time is different. That is why we must still give hope a chance, even though there are miles to go and the road will be bumpy.

Back in the 1980s, many in the West initially regarded the Soviet Union’s policies of economic reform and political openness, as well as its stated intention of nuclear arms reduction, with pronounced skepticism. Now we feel that same pessimism once again, this time in respect to North Korea. Some are advising Seoul and Washington that they should, instead, recall the opportunities that presented themselves in the second half of the 1980s. The grim history of the Cold War did not stop Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and President Ronald Reagan from reaching for a chance at peace.  [Washington Post]

You can read the rest at the link, but so far I have not seen anything different from the Kim regime so far.  Everything so far has been spectacle and little substance which about sums up all past negotiations and agreements with the Kim regime.

Also an important fact that Mr. Cho failed to mention in his article is Reagan’s famous words of “Trust by Verify”.  I seriously doubt the Trump administration is going to sign up for any denuclearization deal with the Kim regime that does not have strong verification protocols.  When I see the Kim regime agree to nuclear material to be removed from the country and the Yongbyon nuclear plant irreversibly shut down under the supervision of international inspectors then I will say this time is different.