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| North Korea experts from South Korea and the United States participate in an online seminar, Tuesday, held by the Seoul-based think tank Chey Institute for Advanced Studies and the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) to mark the publication of a special joint report titled "The Future of Northeast Asia and the Korea-U.S. Alliance." Captured from the online seminar |
By Jung Da-min
North Korea watchers from South Korea and the United States have stressed the need to provide "economic incentives" to Pyongyang to encourage the reclusive country to take actions for denuclearization, Tuesday.
But they added that until steps are taken by the North, international sanctions should remain in place.
The Seoul-based think tank the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies and the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) co-organized a webinar Tuesday to mark the publication of a special joint report titled "The Future of Northeast Asia and the Korea-U.S. Alliance."
Discussing the prospects of the security situation in Northeast Asia and on the Korean Peninsula, the participants said a comprehensive approach was needed regarding the matter of North Korea's denuclearization.
They stressed the importance of strong military deterrence and implementing sanctions against the North, but said these should come with engagement policies such as proposing economic development projects to Pyongyang on the condition of the implementation of denuclearization measures.
"We are seeking to tie sanctions with positive economic incentives," Sue Mi Terry, senior fellow with CSIS Korea, said during the online event.
Kim Byung-yeon, an economics professor at Seoul National University, said he presumes North Korea's GDP has declined by about 20 percent since 2017 to last year and, considering this situation, President Joe Biden's administration should take a practical approach to engaging the reclusive regime in the denuclearization process.
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| North Korea experts from South Korea participate in an online webinar, Tuesday, held both in Seoul and Washington, D.C., to mark the publication of a special report titled "The Future of Northeast Asia and the Korea-U.S. Alliance," co-organized by the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Captured from the online webinar |
The participants said it was important for the U.S. to cooperate with China, as implementing sanctions would be meaningless without the participation of Beijing, the main trading partner of Pyongyang. They also noted the growing rivalry between the U.S. and China, saying this comes along with a much higher degree of interdependence between the global super powers.
"I think the geopolitics of Northeast Asia will increasingly become more important because of this U.S.-China rivalry," said Joseph Nye, the distinguished service professor at Harvard University. He said South Korea is facing a geopolitical dilemma as allying with either of the superpowers would alienate the other.
"Korea has followed a very sensible strategy which was to have an alliance with a distant great power and to borrow the power of that distant power because they had no local territorial aspirations. And that of course is the importance of the U.S.-Korea alliance."
Nye also said Seoul needs to realize that it still has to keep the alliance with the U.S. while the regional geopolitics have not changed, adding, "It's important to realize that the U.S. and South Korea are locked in the community fate," with U.S. troops and families located in South Korea.
Other participants included CSIS Senior Vice President and Korea Chair Victor Cha, University of North Korean Studies President Ahn Ho-young, U.S. Forces Korea (USFK) former commander Vincent Brooks and Kim Hong-kyun, former special representative for the Korean Peninsula and security affairs at the foreign ministry.
Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group and head of the Chey Institute for Advanced Studies, delivered welcoming remarks, noting that the international community has yet to put the pandemic behind it. He said superpowers like China and the United States should take the role of global suppliers of public goods to maintain international security and financial stability.
"China and the U.S. must not fall into this trap or surrender to protectionism. But we cannot rely on superpowers alone. Regional players must also play their parts," Chey said. "We, therefore, have a collective responsibility to sustain U.S.-Korea relations in industrial and technological cooperation to foster deeper cultural ties."
John Hamre, president and CEO of CSIS, also delivered welcoming remarks, saying a strong bilateral partnership between the U.S. and South Korea was important for peace and security in Northeast Asia.
