The article was originally published by Voice of America and translated by OKN Correspondent.
Former high-ranking US officials under the Trump administration said at an international conference in Seoul today that strong sanctions against North Korea should continue to pressure North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on the road to denuclearization. They also expressed a view that China would not want North Korea to denuclearize within the framework of strategic competition with the United States. Hwan-yong Kim from Seoul reports.
Former US Vice President Mike Pence delivered a speech at the Asian Leadership Conference hosted by the Chosun Ilbo in Seoul on the 13th. He emphasized that pressuring North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to come to the denuclearization talks through strong sanctions is the road to denuclearization.
Former Vice President Pence said that the United States could have US-DPRK summits under the Trump administration by keeping its doors for talks open while imposing historic, strong sanctions through the United Nations.
Mentioning that the Trump administration adhered to a firm position rather than having a fantasy toward North Korea, former Vice President Pence said that North Korea had shown a vicious cycle of provocations, making empty promises, and returning to provocations by breaking the promises, constantly trying to win concessions from the West.
Former Vice President Pence also said that the Chinese Communist Party and its dictatorship is the biggest challenge facing the free world, including the Korean Peninsula. He also criticized the Biden administration, saying that its attempts to ease tariffs on China imposed during the Trump administration were unacceptable.
Former Vice President Pence stated that North Korea could benefit indirectly from the US easing tariffs on China; thus, the US’ maximum pressure strategy might also change to a soft-line policy.
Additionally, he expressed expectancy toward South Korea’s new President Yoon Suk Yeol, saying that the US and South Korea had a strong relationship under the Trump administration in various aspects, including trade, joint defense posture, and strong response toward North Korea’s provocations.
Saying that he was able to meet with President Yoon three times since he was still a candidate, former Vice President Pence expressed his view that President Yoon represented a great opportunity for strengthening the US-ROK relations in many areas such as economic policy and security posture in the Korean Peninsula and the region.
Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who participated in the event in a video interview, said it was a lie to say that China wants the denuclearization of North Korea and pointed out China, in fact, as a major obstacle to North Korea’s denuclearization.
Former Secretary Pompeo said that Chairman Kim Jong-un met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in advance whenever he was supposed to meet with either him or Trump and pointed out that it was China’s move to control Kim.
Former Secretary Pompeo said that the Chinese Communist Party and Xi Jinping needed North Korea as a buffer zone on the Korean Peninsula, and they knew that Kim Jong-un’s nuclear weapons were beneficial to distract the United States and consume its resources.
Former Secretary Pompeo said he thinks Chairman Kim wanted to go in the right direction at the time of the US-DPRK summit but implied that China was a stumbling block since the denuclearization option mattered to not only North Korea but also to the CCP.
Former Secretary Pompeo said it was necessary to make North Korea pay the highest price for refusing to denuclearize. He also emphasized making Kim Jong-un make better choices for himself and the people.
At the same event, General Paul LaCamera, commander of the US-ROK Combined Forces Command, gave a speech on ways to upgrade the US-ROK alliance.
In his speech, Commander LaCamera stressed the need for US-ROK joint field training exercises.
“Currently, we do the US-ROK Combined Command Post Training (CCPT), but we must also guarantee the conditions for field training of the Army, Navy, and Air Force. We have to be able to conduct training in various fields, such as in air, sea, land, cyber, and space,” Commander LaCamera said.
LaCamera’s speech can be explained that field training where troops actually maneuver is necessary as the Combined Command Post Training is based on computer simulations.
The US and South Korea are considering whether to include outdoor field training exercises in the second half of the Combined Command Post Training to be held from the 22nd of next month.
“North Korea continues to develop its capabilities to threaten South Korea, its regional partners, and the US mainland. Taking that into consideration, we must transform the US-ROK alliance focused on the bilateral relationship into one where we can conduct operations in various fields and consider regional environments,” Commander LaCamera said.
Commander Lacamera also emphasized that trilateral cooperation between the United States, South Korea, and Japan is very important for stability, peace, and security in Northeast Asia.
“We must ensure that the three countries have interoperability. If given the opportunity, we will use the opportunity to train together, not necessarily on the Korean Peninsula, but also in Japan or in the regions of operation in the Indo-Pacific,” he added.
