turning the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas
one of the most heavily armed intention field areas in the world into a landmark
of peace that's what the South Korean president has said he aims to do in
recent weeks but just how feasible is this school and how do we get there
today we take an in-depth look into the issue with Lieutenant General Tony
embalm a highly decorated veteran of the Republic of Korea army and commander of
the ROK Special Warfare command who has also involved firsthand the negotiations
and cooperation with the US on military relations as well as the most sensitive
security issues on the peninsula Lieutenant General it's a pleasure to
have you with us thank you for having me well over the past year we saw a flurry
of talks and negotiations between the two Koreas which gave rise to hope that
there'll be progress in building peace on the Korean Peninsula from a military
perspective three just how feasible is this and have you actually seen progress
in this regard yes the tensions on the Korean Peninsula
have declined but I think what we see now is misleading because tensions can
always go back to the situation we had a couple of years back and so I feel that
as a former military person that we need to be always ready for a situation where
it might not be very inviting I see well the North has actually
conducted multiple missile tests since the Hanoi summits earlier this year and
of course the recent tests that it conducted that says it was an SLBM test
what do you make of these developments have we actually seen a backward step in
progress the most recent test which was on 2 October is most unfortunate it is
different from the previous 10 tests that the North Koreans have conducted
since May the previous tests were mostly tactical in nature they were by
definition ballistic missiles but they had a tactical orientation to it and
meaning it was in shorter range mostly in the
it increased its accuracy and range and evasive capability but the one that they
shot off just recently is a submarine-launched ballistic missile
this is a first strike capability and it is a clear violation of the UN Security
Council resolutions so and it came just a few days before the talks between the
United States and North Korea and Sweden so all of this was just bad timing and
it was very unfortunate and it was very supporting from a Korean view I see and
how would you rate North Korea's level of threat or capabilities at this point
so the North Koreans have a very large conventional force much of it is
obsolete but the North Koreans have been steadily developing a niche capability
namely we know that they have a nuclear capability they can have make nuclear
weapons they have considerable intermediate-range capability and now
sink seeking intercontinental capability they have a very sophisticated and
up-to-date cyber capability not a day goes by that the world is threatened by
this capability they also have chemical and biological weapons and they have
about 200,000 plus Special Forces or light infantry which is above the
quality of your average North Korean so if you think of all of these put
together and other aspects of North Korean military there's no doubt that
they pose a significant threat to the security of the Republic of Korea as
well as the entire region rights but on the other hand North Korea
has condemned the continuation of joint military drills between South Korea and
the u.s. what is your view on this yes it's unfortunate that North Korea has
not accepted the numerous invitations by the Republic of
Korea and the United States to come and observe these exercises these exercises
have been tailored since the recent peace process on the Korean Peninsula to
make sure that it is more defensive in nature than before so right now these
exercises are not the military deployments that we used to see these
are staff command exercises just to maintain the quality of the staff
training so if the North Koreans were to come and see they would understand this
also on the Korean Peninsula there's a very important organization called the
Neutral Nations supervisory commission the nnsc observes these exercises and
ensures that these exercises are defensive in nature so we have a third
party who guarantees that these exercises are defensive and are not
offensive at all to any other neighbor so North Korea need not be threatened by
it if they feel uncomfortable we always welcome them to come and see and I hope
that one day they will accept our invitation right and what's some next
steps that we should take to further ease military tensions and also build
trust across the border that's yes so we as in all negotiations and all peace
processes confidence-building measures are the key right now along the
Demilitarized Zone 155 miles both North and South Korea face each other with
considerable military forces the comprehensive military agreement between
North and South Korea last year as to a degree eased some of these tensions we
need to build upon this but unfortunately the North Koreans have not
accepted further steps for me as a military person what I would like to see
is a inspection of the North Korean pose because those are the areas that we
believe are the entrances to the numerous tunnels that can be used to
offensively infiltrate those 200,000 Special Forces that I mentioned into
South Korea so that would be a really great confidence-building measure also
the North Koreans have close to a thousand artillery pieces aimed at Seoul
right now we need to have somehow negotiate a withdrawal of these tactical
artillery pieces up to the north northern area so that they do not
directly threaten a South Korea these would be two measures that the North
Koreans could take that would really build trust between our two countries
it's unfortunate that North Korea is unwilling so far to talk about these
things and it's only making the situation harder for them and for
everybody else who lives on the Korean Peninsula because they're not doing this
I see and some have actually argued that signing a peace treaty between the south
and the north would actually help ease military tensions and of course also see
progress in terms of the denuclearization talks how feasible is
this day I think a peace treaty is very feasible and it is should be welcomed
but I also think that we should not think that a peace treaty a piece of
paper is going to protect us there are going to be many mechanisms that need to
guarantee that peace treaty maybe the United Nations command could be
something that would still be required even if we do have a peace treaty just
to make sure that both sides on the north and as well as on the south adhere
to that peace treaty I see and of course there are multiple stakeholders when it
comes to building peace on the Korean Peninsula
how should sow then work with the United States as well as the United Nations
command well we've always benefited by our relationship with the United States
as well as the United Nations command now sometimes you know because we work
with each other we have we
we have some contentious moments and we disagree but overall it has benefited
both the United States and the Republic of Korea so the number one thing that I
think we should do is continue with the kind of trust and amicable relationship
that we've had so far with United States as well as the United Nations command
now there are many changes that are occurring on the Korean Peninsula for
one thing the operational control of Korean forces are going to be retained
by the Koreans pretty soon and because of this the and another thing is that
the combined forces command which is now led by a u.s. four star will be led by a
Korean four star and so forth so all of these changes will require a more
defined look at a relationship with the United States and our relationship with
the United Nations command but it must be a basis of trust and amicable
relations that we have right now I see and you stress the importance of
diplomacy before in any case and of course you've basically grown up with
diplomacy with your mother having been Korea's first female diplomats he was
detached to New York as well so having I mean looking back on the recent attempts
to restart the talks between North Korea and the u.s. over the weekend which
collapsed of course and do you think there needs to be a change of tactic
when it comes to diplomacy between the two sides I think there needs to be a
change in tactics by the North Koreans
first and foremost we need to hear from the North Korean leader Kim jong-un that
he is willing to denuclearize now how long it's going to take where we're
going to start we can we can work those things out but we really need to know
whether he intends to denuclearize and then we can start with
what we can compensate to make him feel more safe others believe that the United
States or South Korea or other countries should be the first to to to offer the
the first step and I believe that we already did offer a lot of things for
one thing the President of the United States met with Kim jong-un three times
it has never happened in the relationship between these two countries
we've concluded major military exercises that's been going on for 60 years and
still North Korea is not willing to accept these things as as concrete steps
we've we've been able to build a lot of things to lower tensions on the Korean
Peninsula so I think now it is time for North Korea especially their leader to
come out and say that we're going to denuclearize I want to hear him say that
in clear words and then from there we can start with other aspects of these
negotiations I see and until reach that point in the meantime what do you think
South Korea should do to safeguard the security of its people against the
North's nuclear threats and various other sites that you mentioned right now
Korea has the best Air Force and a pretty good Navy and compared to the
North Koreans especially our Navy and Air Force is pretty good unfortunately
from where I'm coming from which isn't on the army side I see that fundamental
equipment for the army is wanting and that's where I I've been trying to focus
on for the past couple of years and that is the area that I wish to focus on as a
retired military person to improve the individual weapons of the soldier I wish
to take this opportunity to warn the North Koreans of one thing now to the
North Koreans we South Korean soldiers they look
sloppy and ill discipline but the South Korean
young men are not ill-disciplined I have soldiered with 30 nations and our
soldiers are smart they're loyal they are disciplined and it would be
foolhardy for the North Koreans to think that just because our soldiers smile a
lot and are sloppy and and do not march as well as North Koreans that they would
be incapable of fighting off North Korea so you know although we we South Korean
military have issues we are a democratic country that can overcome these things
but especially our younger generation of soldiers are very capable and very
disciplined so North Korea should not misjudge well finally and how close or
how far do you think we are to actually turning the DMZ into a landmark of peace
and what do you think are the next steps that we should take towards that goal
well we've done a great deal to turn the DMZ into a a more safe place and a
symbol of peace already on the eastern Western Corridor
there are areas where trade between North and South Korea is possible and we
have had such experiences before the whole nuclear issue came up right now in
the central area we have remains being recovered by a recovery team and overall
tensions have have been lowered so all of these things tell me that there is
hope and there is possibility but again the these could be misleading and these
require continued effort from North and South Korea and I would just ask the
North Koreans to be a little bit more forthcoming in their intent to really
build peace on the Korean Peninsula I see well I think that just about wraps
it up and thank you so much for making time for us today general thank you
again for inviting me