FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 16, 2020
Contact: press@defensepriorities.org
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, The New York Times reported that North Korea blew up a building housing a liaison office where DPRK and ROK officials had been engaging in person-to-person diplomacy since 2018. Defense Priorities Senior Fellow Lt. Col. Daniel L. Davis, USA, Ret. issued the following statement in response:
“North Korea has a long history of saber rattling to extract concessions, and destroying the North-South liaison office conforms to that pattern. Pyongyang’s latest move is not a rejection of diplomacy with the U.S. and South Korea—the only way the DPRK can end its longstanding political isolation and international sanctions against it—but rather an expression of frustration at the lack of progress in negotiations.
“Despite deteriorating relations between Pyongyang and Washington, the U.S. retains an overwhelming military advantage that can deter any unprovoked North Korean attack. The DPRK has always prioritized regime survival and is well aware that the balance of power strongly favors the U.S. and its allies. While the regime will continue to carry out acts of provocative symbolism as it deems expedient, it will not provoke a conflict it is sure to lose.
“Continued diplomatic engagement with the DPRK can yield results, but current U.S. policy—to seek complete, verifiable, and irreversible dismantlement of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program before granting Pyongyang any relief—is a nonstarter for North Korea, whose nuclear weapons guarantee its survival. A more incremental negotiating approach could, however, secure nuclear freezes, rollbacks, and even relative peace on the Korean peninsula. To facilitate this process, the U.S. should grant Seoul a freer hand to pursue reconciliation with its northern neighbor.”
Author
Events on North Korea
