By Ralph A. Kuiper

The Peninsula Chapter of the World Affairs Council and the Los Altos main library sponsored a talk April 19 by Philip Yun on “North Korea’s Nuclear Weapons Program and the U.S. Policy and Response: A Personal Journey.”

Approximately 90 people heard the Korea expert talk about the North Korean government and people. His view evolved through his experiences serving on negotiation teams for the U.S. government beginning in 1994.

Yun described the interactions that the teams had with North Korean government officials and ordinary citizens. These descriptions proposed an alternate view of North Korea not limited to images of a leader with a mega ego, marching armies and starving children. Rather, Yun suggested that the overall view should include children eager to see people from other countries and a nation that wants to become part of the world stage.

He said it is critical to have the total picture of North Korea because the stakes are high.

Yun is the Pantek Fellow in Korean Studies at the Asia Pacific Research Center within the Institute for International Studies at Stanford University.

During the Clinton administration he served in a number of positions in the State Department, including deputy for the U.S. delegation to the Korean peace talks in Geneva and other venues. In these capacities Yun served with Secretary of Defense William Perry and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright.

According to Yun, the United States’ approach to negotiating on the North Korean weapons program is complicated by the regional circumstances, which include anti-Japanese demonstrations in China and rejection by South Korea of U.S. planning options for reactions to the potential collapse of the Kim Jong Il government in North Korea.

Early in the Bush administration, bilateral talks ceased, and North Korea expelled international inspectors.

The country claims it possesses nuclear weapons. It has also withdrawn from the nuclear nonproliferation treaty.

The backdrop for the negotiations also includes Korean cultural issues, the relations between North and South Korea, and the anti-Western propaganda in North Korea.

Yun made a strong case for reasons the American public should worry about North Korea and its potential weapons program, including the possibility of loose nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists, an Asian arms race, humanitarian support for North Koreans suffering from hunger and poor health, and the U.S. political position in Asia, where the economic strength of China is growing rapidly.

Yun felt that the present status of many important issues appears to be worse today than when negotiations ceased. More nuclear bomb material is most likely available in North Korea, he said. There is uncertainty about weapons development status and materials availability because inspectors are no longer on site.

Yun said early negotiations showed North Korea wanted an end to hostile relations. It understood the potential economic and development benefits of political normalization.

Yun is not optimistic that the situation will be resolved soon. He is also concerned that even if Kim Jong Il were to leave office, the next generation would show an even harder line to the West.

The confusion inherent in the multilateral negotiations, caused by the need for multiple layers of translators and six-sided tables, has obscured the objectives of all the parties, including the North Koreans.

“The situation is worse today than four years ago,” Yun said. He concluded by noting that the perception issues must be resolved before progress can be made on nuclear weapons.

Ralph A. Kuiper is chairperson of Peninsula Chapter of the World Affairs Council. For more about the council, log on to www.itsyourworld.org.