material photo” alt=”President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un listen to the declaration after signing the Pyongyang Joint Declaration at the Baekhwawon Guest House in Pyongyang on the morning of September 19, 2018. President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un listen to the declaration after signing the Pyongyang Joint Declaration at the Baekhwawon Guest House in Pyongyang on the morning of September 19, 2018. <한겨레> Material photo
“I will open it. Come to Yongbyon (to the nuclear facility) and see everything.” North Korean leader Kim Jong-un promised to open the Yongbyon nuclear facility to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), as well as the South, said candidate Eui-yong, Foreign Minister. It was said that Chairman Kim is still willing to denuclearize. Candidate Chung said at a hearing on the National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Transportation Affairs Committee on the 5th, when asked by Rep. Cho Tae-yong,’Do you think Kim Jong-un has the will to denuclearize?’ “Chairman Kim told me and made it clearer to the President.” Rather than Jung Hu, “(Chairman Kim) may come in from the South. IAEA experts are also good. Let’s make it clear after all come in.” He added, “When Chairman Kim Jong-un took the seventy-hour train (for the second North Korea-US summit) to Hanoi, he was firmly prepared.” It is not confirmed when Chairman Kim specifically said this, but in the Pyongyang Joint Declaration (Article 5, Paragraph 2) agreed upon by the North and South Korea in September 2018, “If the US takes corresponding measures in accordance with the spirit of the June 12-North Korea Joint Commitment He has expressed his willingness to continue to take additional measures, such as the permanent destruction of nuclear facilities.” Candidate Chung said on the day, “I believe that the breakdown of negotiations in Hanoi (North Korea-US) lies with both North Korea-US sides. It seems that North Korea has not been able to accurately judge the situation, and it seems that its bargaining power is inadequate. In fact, in the United States, it seems that the stiff attitude and perspective of the neo-cons”All or Nothing’ and’All or Nothing’ represented by Bolton (White House National Security Advisor) at the time was a problem. It seems like we were engaged in crisis.” He said, “So I did not take advantage of the good opportunity to get rid of Yongbyon and go to the next stage.” Candidate Jung said, “If it were possible to abolish Yongbyon at the time, hundreds or thousands of experts from the US or Korean side would have been in Yongbyon or Pyongyang.” “I think the political ripple that it would bring would be tremendous.” He added, “If Yongbyon could be scrapped, not only plutonium but also tritium could be scrapped, and a very core project of the North Korean nuclear program could be removed.” He said, “I couldn’t achieve such a good opportunity at that time, but I think that Chairman Kim Jong-un will keep what he promised with our leader in the future.” Candidate Jung also said, “North Korea is keeping its promise of moratorium (to stop nuclear and missile tests).” “Remarks at the (8th) party conference last year, or showing off (new weapons) at last year’s fever ceremony, the leverage of negotiations. We evaluate whether it is intended to be maintained.” When asked about a future approach to North Korea, Kim Young-joo, a Democratic Party member, said, “It is most realistic to agree on the final state of the denuclearization of the North Korean-US negotiations and go through one or two steps to reach the final goal. I see,” he said, “I will discuss with the US.” By Kim Ji-eun and Chae Yoon-tae, staff reporter [email protected]