Thae Yong-ho Says Kim Jong-un’s New Year’s Speech Shows He Does Not Plan to Denuclearize

The former deputy North Korean ambassador to the United Kingdom who defected from the Kim regime had this to say about Kim Jong-un’s recent New Year’s speech:

Thae Yong-ho

Thae Yong-ho, one of the highest-ranking North Korean defectors in the South, told reporters in Seoul on Tuesday that Kim’s speech had two strategic purposes. These are to drive a wedge between South Korea and the United States in regards to economic cooperation with the North, and to complicate the verification process of North Korea’s denuclearization by initiating multilateral negotiations over a formal peace treaty to end the 1950-53 Korean War. 

“If summarized in a single sentence, Kim Jong-un’s address shows he wants to narrow down the scope of the nuclear negotiations between the United States and North Korea to arms reduction and push off international sanctions, while retaining the status of a nuclear-armed country,” Thae said.

According to Thae, who used to be North Korea’s deputy ambassador to the United Kingdom, the “new path” Kim mentioned the North would take if the United States does not respond with corresponding measures to its denuclearization efforts would be a return to its old pattern of making nuclear provocations. In the speech, Kim said the North would not “make and test nuclear weapons any longer nor use and proliferate them.” Thae said “a new path” would mean reneging on this pledge. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

You can read more views at the link, but the consensus seems to be building that Kim Jong-un does not plan to denuclearize and instead inspects the Trump administration to drop sanctions first.

This is all in line with the “pretend denuclearization” strategy that I believe the North Korean’s are hoping to achieve. Once sanctions are dropped the regime will be flushed with cash that it can then funnel back into its weapons programs. While doing this they can do superficial things to give the appearance of heading towards denuclearization without actually fully denuclearizing.

They will drag this out as long as possible and then by the time someone calls them out on their duplicity, they will make up reason to blame the US for the breakdown in the agreement. By the time this happens they hope to have an agreement to end the Korean War in place and US troops withdrawn from the peninsula.

The regime is betting that by this time the US and the international community will just want to treat them like Pakistan and let them keep their nukes because it isn’t worth the trouble to forcefully make them denuclearize. By keeping the nukes this then allows them over time to coerce the ROK into the confederation agreement they have been demanding to implement.

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Flyingsword
Flyingsword
5 years ago

no Sh*t…i have no rank and never defected from nK and could tell you that.

J6Junkie
J6Junkie
5 years ago

Duhhhh.

With Commie Moon and stooges, he will never have to!

setnaffa
setnaffa
5 years ago

Doesn’t matter what he wants. He made a promise to Trump. For a wall promise from the GOP, Trump shut down our gummint. For nukes, Trump might shut down the nork gummint. “With extreme prejudice.” Even if the Chinese trolls post otherwise.

And Moon could get the whole peninsula shut down by trying to break the sanctions. Imagine what would happen to the ROK economy if Trump pulls the US troops out and has the UN replace them with Russians, Chinese, and Pakistanis?

How msny orders worldwide would be cancelled?

It could actually be over in 60-90 minutes. Those chaebol families have less of a sense of humor abour money than I. Possibly because they actually have some. Moon would probably be found facedown in his own tub, after having slipped on a bar of soap.

At least, that’s how an alternate history author might write it up…

rob
rob
5 years ago

SETNAFFA, go off urself please, cretin

setnaffa
setnaffa
5 years ago

LOL… You funny long time…

ChickenHead
ChickenHead
5 years ago

Moon may one day be faced with a choice… let a wedge be driven between South Korea and America or let a wedge be driven between South Korea and North Korea.

There may be a time when it makes some sense for South Korea to embrace North Korea and the Chinese side of things.

The remainder of the Moon administration will not contain that time.

History suggests Moon is likely destined for a jail cell within 5 years as payback for his revenge on retribution over previous retaliation for former vengence.

Crashing the economy by going against expectations of the global community will put him there quicker and longer.

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