North Korea's recent move is suspected of being part of its tactics in which it requests such rewards as the guarantee of its regime's safety by emphasizing a cooperative stance toward the United States while delaying denuclearization.
North Korea has returned the remains of some of the U.S. servicemen who were taken captive or went missing during the Korean War. The repatriated remains are believed to be those that have been kept by the North for a long period of time.
Recovery and repatriation of the remains were agreed upon during the U.S.-North Korea summit in mid-June. It took as long as one and a half months for the agreement to begin to be implemented, probably because Pyongyang delayed the process intentionally.
The remains were repatriated on Friday, which marked the 65th anniversary of the signing of the Korean War armistice agreement. This could be viewed as a sign that North Korea aims to realize an early declaration of the end of the Korean War to which Pyongyang attaches importance.
During the U.S.-North Korea summit, U.S President Donald Trump promised to provide a security guarantee to North Korea. Pyongyang aims to conclude a peace accord to replace the armistice agreement as the pillar of the U.S. guarantee of its regime. The North is believed to be trying to use the declaration of the end of the Korean War as a step forward achieving that goal.
The problem is that Pyongyang has not taken any concrete steps concerning "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," which was pledged by Kim Jong Un, chairman of the Workers' Party of Korea, during his summit with Trump.
Pressure must be maintained
To realize "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization," which is demanded by Washington, North Korea is required to report all of its nuclear facilities, dismantle its nuclear weapons arsenal and abandon its nuclear materials. Inspection by an international organization is also imperative. There is not yet any prospect of a road map being drawn to complete these processes.
In a recent U.S. congressional hearing, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo testified that North Korea continues to produce nuclear materials. Moves that run counter to denuclearization cannot be overlooked.
North Korea has begun the dismantlement of the Tongchang-ri missile test site in its northwestern region. The North may argue that this is part of its denuclearization process, but it will not lead to a reduction of its nuclear threat. The country maintains an ability to launch ballistic missiles from multiple sites.
Stressing that there is "no rush" to denuclearize the North, Trump has made optimistic remarks repeatedly about the prospects of negotiations with Pyongyang. This is a matter of concern. Washington should not be allowed to fall in line with the negotiating pace of North Korea by acknowledging the return of remains and dismantling of the missile test site as successful results of the deal that followed the Trump-Kim summit.
Behind the North's tactics of delaying denuclearization is China's relaxation of pressure through sanctions against Pyongyang after conducting three rounds of China-North Korea summit meetings.
Pompeo had every reason to call on U.N. Security Council members to strictly implement sanctions resolutions adopted by the council.
North Korea is said to have imported refined petroleum products beyond the ceiling set by the Security Council by conducting ship-to-ship transfers of such products in international waters. Pressure must be maintained until the North realizes its denuclearization.
(From The Yomiuri Shimbun, July 29, 2018)
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