US Stands Firm on Denuclearization in North Korea Negotiations

Jung Pak, the U.S. State Department’s top official for North Korea, is delivering a keynote speech at a seminar commemorating the “70th Anniversary of the US-Korea Alliance,” held at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington D.C. on September 11, 2023, local time. / Photo by Hah Man Joo, Washington Correspondent

A senior U.S. State Department official has dismissed some claims that the negotiations on arms reduction with North Korea should proceed, reaffirming that denuclearization is the goal.

However, this official acknowledged the need for interim measures to discuss weapon-related activities and proliferation in the process of achieving the ultimate goal of complete denuclearization of North Korea.

Jung Pak, the top official for North Korea at the State Department, answered a question about whether the U.S. is open to achieving arms reduction goals such as limiting the number of missiles, even if North Korea does not agree to give up nuclear weapons, during a discussion with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington D.C. on the 5th (local time). “Our goal is clear, and we will continue to strive for denuclearization of the peninsula,” she said.

She added, “We’ve heard such claims (arms reduction negotiations) before, and I’d like to say that North Korea is proliferating ballistic missiles and is also involved in relations with Russia,” and pointed out that “we need to think about what that claim is about in arms reduction talks.”

This is seen as a dismissal of some claims within the U.S. that while putting aside the long-term goal of North Korea’s denuclearization for the time being, the U.S. and South Korea should focus on risk reduction measures that can reduce the possibility of accidental military clashes, such as building trust, transparency, and communication measures, and embark on arms reduction negotiations to reduce or freeze the number of nuclear warheads and ballistic missiles at the current level.

Jung Pak, the top official for North Korea at the State Department, is holding a discussion with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, D.C., on the 5th (local time). / Captured from Carnegie Endowment for International Peace video

However, Pak, the top official for North Korea, said, “Denuclearization will not happen overnight, and there are steps that need to be taken to get there,” adding, “We welcome any signal that North Korea is willing to engage.”

Pak stated, “It goes without saying that there should be intermediate steps towards ultimate denuclearization,” and explained, “Considering the range of North Korea’s weapon-related activities and proliferation, such as solid fuel, tactical nuclear weapons, hypersonic capability, unmanned submarines, it’s important to acknowledge that we have many weapons to deal with.”

In a dialogue at the JoongAng Daily-American Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) Forum 2024 on the 4th, Mira Rapp-Hooper, Senior Director for East Asia and Oceania at the National Security Council (NSC) in the White House, addressed “the purpose of the U.S. is a complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” but “if it is to keep better safety for all areas of the world, interim measures towards the denuclearization are also up for the consideration” regarding the saying of Victor Cha, the senior vice president for Aisa and Korea Chair at CSIS, that there are experts opinion to try such as threat reduction and arms reduction rather than denuclearization, given the status of North Korea as a nuclear-armed state.

While there are views on freezing or reducing nuclear weapons on the interim measures, the top official for North Korea, Pak, pointed out the impracticality of these measures, considering North Korea’s current provision of ballistic missiles and ammunition to Russia. Consequently, the interim measures could likely refer to a phased agreement where the U.S. would take corresponding actions in response to North Korea’s denuclearization measures.

Pak revealed that she had received an email that appeared to be a hack.

She said, “I received an email yesterday from a think tank person even I am acquainted with. The English was perfect, but the email address was strange,” and confirmed that it was not an email sent by that person.