and for more on the Hanoi summit and what we can expect from here and out dr.
Pam jung-shik from the eunsuh Institute for North Korean Studies joins us in the
studio today so good to see you well pleased to be here all right so let's
start with what we heard from the Korean Central News Agency on Friday it said
the North Korean leader Kim jong-un and US president Donald Trump have agreed to
continue discuss significant improvements in bilateral ish relations
during their Hanoi summit and that the leaders saw their second summit as a
good chance to boost their mutual trust and also upgrade their relations adding
that they actually promised to meet again for future discussions so what can
we make of this report you might be quite or natural of the media of North
Korea to have such a soft and conciliatory tone but there are two main
purposes of taking this very soft position by North Korean government
one is that time does not favor in North Korea a North Korean economy has been
under harsh sanctions and it keeps bleeding there is a main reason why Kim
jong-un wanted to talk about lifting economic sanctions not other issues such
as opening liaison office or declaration of official end of the Korean War so a
sanction works and North Korea is out of time and North Korea is out of time in
terms of Trump administration's first term will be ending in 2020 right if
there will be a new leadership in Washington Washington DC then North
Korea is a strategy to deal with the United States may have to go back to
square one so North Korea needs to keep the door
open for the United States to resume dialogue and negotiations and as I
mentioned the sanction hurts so lifting economic sanctions would require
resuming dialogue and negotiations with Washington as soon as possible all right
now what's interesting though is that this KCNA reporting about the summit
kind of doesn't go hand-in-hand with North Korean Vice foreign minister Dee
HOSA midnight press conference which actually contradicted some of trumps
claims on the summit can you tell us more about that well it's not really in
direct output opposition to KCNA is a report in terms of North Korean
government offering and explanations about it's a position so it is a
opportunity to explain North Korea's own in a position and why North Korea's
offers on the table were reasonable although they were rejected by the
United States but the truth lies closer to the explanations rendered by US
President Trump at the press conference because North Korea may argue that we
only requested a partial lift of economic sanctions only five out of 11
innocent sanctions on North Korea and only the clause is related to livelihood
of North Korean people but those five economic sanctions constitute the core
of economic sanctions on North Korea because they are the blanket sanctions
on entire North Korean economy and prohibits export of North Korea with
five or five major items so imagine that you can really say that well I would
request only five organs from your body your brain your heart your liver or
stomach and your right on then you you will remain the whole body all right
there so and there the return provided by North Korea was only young beyond
nuclear site not the entire inspections of the potentially hidden areas or you
or the missile missile in turpentine and ballistic missiles remember two out of
those of five you know UN Security Council resolutions regard North Korea
is a missile test not nuclear test but North Koreans have no intentions to
offer anything related to inter container ballistic missile so Trump
the administration found North Korea's offer difficult to accept all right so
did this come as a surprise to you though because although many of us
didn't really expect a breakthrough we did expect some kind of a deal to come
between the two leaders right but I like to remain positive
just like the KCNA report at least both sides now clearly understand where they
are standing in North for North Korea to persuade Trump administration about any
kind of sanctions relief North Korea has to offer far more than
just young gun right it should be beyond young Beyond including verification for
the United States the first thing to achieve is to persuade the Kim jong-un
leadership to have a clear and official definition of denuclearization not in a
vague words and one thing that has been made very clear to the United States is
sanctions are working okay so it'll be very difficult to persuade the Trump
administration's to easy clinic sanctions on North Korea because now
it's apparent that they are the most important weapons against North Korea
now then what does this whole collapse of the Hanoi summit put South Korea's
position in I mean how would this affect the ongoing peace process and plans and
efforts by President Muji right those are ambitious plans were just announced
in celebration of the centennial commemoration of March 1st movement by
prison wing Jane I like to hide two things one South Korean government
should be really careful in promoting and pushing into Korean economy projects
because doing so would be in violation of existing economic sanction regime on
North Korea but at the same time South Korean government can be a effective
mediator between the United States and North Korea because both I still want to
maintain in a dialogue and negotiations while South Korean government
can do in particular is to persuade North Korea to carry out verifiable and
concrete steps toward denuclearization doing so would enhance the credibility
of kim giman leadership and its commitment to the nucleation in the eyes
of the trump administration for the remaining two years of the trump
administration's time so time doesn't have favour in North Korea which
enhances the other role of South Korea as a mediator between the United States
and North Korea so could we see Kim and Trump meet anytime soon again and what
could be in the works between the two sides there will be there will be very
difficult because from the standpoint of United States president of United States
met the leader of North Korea not just once but twice right so United States
has given you no chances to North Korea but the second summit meeting ended with
no agreement but working-level meetings can be you know continual continuing and
that is good thing because one of the reasons why the Hanoi summit meeting
collapse is that the preparations are were not sufficient on both sides so
working-level negotiations can be and must be continuing all right thank you
so much for your insight today you're welcome