Former special envoy to six-party talks says there is more hope than in the past
- 6 years ago
Amid the rapid developments on the Korean Peninsula,... many have their eyes on the next steps North Korea would take.
And former special envoy to the six-party talks, Joseph Detrani.... has 'guarded optimism' as he believes there are reasons to feel more confident this time around.
Our Park Hee-jun sat down with the ambassador for his insight. Ambassador DeTrani, thank you so much for joining us today.
Thank you.
With your experience in negotiating with North Korea on the nuclear issue,... how would you assess the recent developments on the Korean Peninsula?
There's so much work to be done here, but there's hope. 6 months ago, we were very close to having conflict on the Korean Peninsula. Now as we sit here in June, we're looking at the prospects of denuclearization, complete denuclearization of North Korea. And North Korea integrating into the family of nations. And looking at economic development and walking away from nuclear weapons. We've had some moments of partial success, in the past, only to be disappointed. But I think right now,... I think there's lots of reasons to be optimistic.
So are you saying that North Korea will eventually keep up its end of the bargain, when it comes to nuclear issues?
In the past, we were negotiators and we worked this. And we moved it forward for our leaders to agree on. And we had the joint statement of 2005. In this case, it's our leaders sitting down and negotiating and making it,... which means this is much more viable. This has much more credibility, because it's the commitment of our leaders-- President Moon Jae-in, President Donald Trump, President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Abe, President Putin. It's our leaders making this commitment with Chairman Kim Jong-un.
We don't know exactly when the regime will really get with this program on nuclear disarmament. But when it does, I would assume that all the preparations, including inspections,... would have to be in place beforehand. Could you walk us through the entire process for preparation on North Korea's denuclearization?
Well, that's the key. Basically, a declaration of their nuclear and missile, mid-range and long-range missile capabilities. And then agree to a verification protocol.
Now, we know what that universe looks like, and then they have to agree. This is normal procedure. The IAEA does this all the time, and it’s likely, hopefully we would have IAEA monitors there. If not that, certainly the nuclear weapons state monitors there, like the United States, China, Russia, to confirm North Korea is dismantling the way they say they would. The question has to be, then, where do you dismantle these nuclear weapons? Do you dismantle them in North Korea? Do you take those nuclear weapons out somewhere else? Do the North Koreans take the responsibility for dismantlement, or do we collaborate on dismantlement? I think two years is very ambitious to complete it. I think we can get a good deal done. But again, it depends on what t
And former special envoy to the six-party talks, Joseph Detrani.... has 'guarded optimism' as he believes there are reasons to feel more confident this time around.
Our Park Hee-jun sat down with the ambassador for his insight. Ambassador DeTrani, thank you so much for joining us today.
Thank you.
With your experience in negotiating with North Korea on the nuclear issue,... how would you assess the recent developments on the Korean Peninsula?
There's so much work to be done here, but there's hope. 6 months ago, we were very close to having conflict on the Korean Peninsula. Now as we sit here in June, we're looking at the prospects of denuclearization, complete denuclearization of North Korea. And North Korea integrating into the family of nations. And looking at economic development and walking away from nuclear weapons. We've had some moments of partial success, in the past, only to be disappointed. But I think right now,... I think there's lots of reasons to be optimistic.
So are you saying that North Korea will eventually keep up its end of the bargain, when it comes to nuclear issues?
In the past, we were negotiators and we worked this. And we moved it forward for our leaders to agree on. And we had the joint statement of 2005. In this case, it's our leaders sitting down and negotiating and making it,... which means this is much more viable. This has much more credibility, because it's the commitment of our leaders-- President Moon Jae-in, President Donald Trump, President Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Abe, President Putin. It's our leaders making this commitment with Chairman Kim Jong-un.
We don't know exactly when the regime will really get with this program on nuclear disarmament. But when it does, I would assume that all the preparations, including inspections,... would have to be in place beforehand. Could you walk us through the entire process for preparation on North Korea's denuclearization?
Well, that's the key. Basically, a declaration of their nuclear and missile, mid-range and long-range missile capabilities. And then agree to a verification protocol.
Now, we know what that universe looks like, and then they have to agree. This is normal procedure. The IAEA does this all the time, and it’s likely, hopefully we would have IAEA monitors there. If not that, certainly the nuclear weapons state monitors there, like the United States, China, Russia, to confirm North Korea is dismantling the way they say they would. The question has to be, then, where do you dismantle these nuclear weapons? Do you dismantle them in North Korea? Do you take those nuclear weapons out somewhere else? Do the North Koreans take the responsibility for dismantlement, or do we collaborate on dismantlement? I think two years is very ambitious to complete it. I think we can get a good deal done. But again, it depends on what t