There has been a John Feffer sighting in the Hankyoreh. For those that don’t know who Mr. Feffer is, he is a long time North Korea apologist who once equated Kim Jong-il to former President George Bush. Feffer even incredibly once claimed that Kim Jong-un was not responsible for the Great Famine in North Korea that needlessly killed hundreds of thousands of his own citizens. Now Feffer is advocating for the Moon administration’s request for the US to approve exemptions on sanctions on North Korea:
John Feffer
North Korea has not pushed forward with denuclearization as quickly as some observers hoped. It hasn’t taken any steps to reduce its nuclear arsenal. In fact, according to a recent U.S. intelligence assessment, North Korea continues to produce highly enriched uranium for additional nuclear weapons.
Nor has North Korea even provided a list of all its nuclear-weapons-related sites or an inventory of its nuclear weapons.Still, North Korea has given several indications that it is serious about de-escalating tensions. It has maintained a moratorium on all missile and nuclear tests. It at least partially destroyed its nuclear test site at Punggye-ri (it may only have destroyed the entrances rather than the tunnels themselves). And most recently it began the partial dismantlement of its satellite-launch station.
None of these moves is irreversible. But given the Trump administration’s tendency to renege on deals – like the Iran nuclear deal – North Korea would frankly be crazy to do anything yet that it can’t later reverse. [Hankyoreh]
Notice how Feffer tries to make it out that it is all President Trump’s fault that North Korea has done nothing meaningful to denuclearize, ignoring the fact North Korea has never done anything meaningful and it has always been the US being the one making concessions in the past.
Here is where he gets into the easing of sanctions:
South Korea has also taken some important steps forward on conflict reduction. Most recently, it reported that it will reduce the number of guard posts along the DMZ and withdraw some military equipment as well. The United States, however, has not made any reciprocal moves. It canceled the summer military exercises with South Korea. But it hasn’t shown any flexibility on the issue of economic sanctions.Indeed, the Trump administration has pushed for stricter implementation of sanctions at the UN, citing North Korean violations of petroleum imports.
The United States has upped the pressure on China and Russia to enforce these sanctions. And last week, several U.S. government agencies send out an advisory that reminded businesses and individuals of the penalties of engaging economically with Pyongyang. Seoul has officially requested exemptions to the sanctions that would allow it to pursue certain economic projects with Pyongyang. It will likely have the support of both Russia and China for such exemptions.
The ball is in the U.S. court. If Trump truly wants to move forward with the deal he struck with Kim Jong Un in Singapore, then he has to put his money where his mouth is.The U.S. government can grant these exemptions while still maintaining an otherwise strict sanctions regime. It can still prevent U.S. businesses and individuals from engaging with North Korea.
It can still push for the tighter implementation of sanctions connected to critical resources, like petroleum, that North Korea needs.What South Korea is looking for, however, are exemptions that would permit the restart of joint economic programs like the Kaesong industrial zone and inter-Korean tourism operations.
The Kaesong Industrial Complex and the joint-tourism projects established by prior left-wing South Korean governments were major foreign revenue generators for the Kim regime. We heard for years about how these engagement projects would change North Korea. Well the engagers and apologists were right North Korea did change, they used the revenue to help fund their ballistic missile and nuclear programs that now can now threaten the entire region and even the US homeland.
Now the engagers and apologists want to double down on their failed ideas, but the big question is if President Trump wants to double down with them?
