South Korean Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho speaks at a press conference with foreign press in Seoul, South Korea, on Thursday. Kim expressed hope that the next US administration would adopt North Korean denuclearization as a policy goal. Photo: Jeon Heon-kyun/EPA-EFE
SEOUL, Aug. 22 (UPI) – Recognition of North Korea as a nuclear power threatens to trigger a domino effect that could lead to an arms race in Northeast Asia, Seoul’s top official for inter-Korean affairs warned on Thursday, calling on the United States to reaffirm its support for the denuclearization of the peninsula.
Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho made these remarks at a press conference for foreign journalists during a discussion on the upcoming US presidential election.
Neither the Democratic nor the Republican platform mentions nuclear disarmament as a goal of American North Korea policy. This represents a deviation from the Democrats’ 2020 platform and has caused some concern in the South.
Kim, whose ministry is responsible for inter-Korean relations, is convinced that each of the new governments will look more closely at the North Korean nuclear issue when it takes office.
“Whichever side is chosen, at the beginning there will be a review of North Korean policy and during this process we sincerely hope that the complete denuclearization of North Korea will be mentioned as one of the priorities,” Kim said. “The South Korean government will also work closely to ensure that this idea is implemented in U.S. policy.”
North Korea and the United States held nuclear talks during a period of détente in 2018 and 2019, but talks ended after a summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-US President Donald Trump in Hanoi ended without an agreement.
Pyongyang resumed its weapons programs and passed a law in 2022 officially declaring itself a nuclear power with the right to launch preemptive strikes – a decision Kim Jong Un called “irreversible.”
On Thursday, the minister stressed the importance of strengthening deterrence against North Korean provocations and protecting the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty regime.
“The South Korean government’s position is clear: We want the complete denuclearization of North Korea,” Kim said. “If we recognize North Korea as a nuclear power, there will be instability in Northeast Asia. There will be a nuclear domino effect for the countries in the region and that will mean the fall of the NPT regime.”
Kim’s comments come a week after South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol outlined a vision for unification with North Korea and offered to open a working group for dialogue.
Yoon’s plan for unification includes bringing about change in the North through access to information from the outside world.
Kim stressed the importance of keeping North Koreans informed, citing a ministry survey that found 80 percent of defectors had watched foreign media, including South Korean dramas and films, within a year of fleeing the country.
“There is a high degree of voluntary desire among North Koreans for media content,” he said. “We will do our best to ensure that North Koreans’ access to information from abroad is protected.”
Two North Korean defectors attempted a risky crossing of the inter-Korean border this month. There is speculation that South Korean propaganda broadcasts over loudspeakers may have contributed to their decision.
Seoul has been conducting the broadcasts in the DMZ since mid-July, broadcasting K-pop songs as well as South Korean news and information across the border.
The move came in response to North Korea sending thousands of balloons filled with waste paper, shredded clothing and dung to the South since early June, one of which dumped garbage on President Yoon’s compound.
