[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] Jeong Se-hyun, Senior Vice Chairman of the Democratic Peaceful Unification Advisory Council, commented on the statement by North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Son-gwon, who declared a "halt to dialogue" on the evening of the 23rd, saying it is, in modern terms, a "push and pull" tactic. He emphasized that North Korea should present positions such as suspending or reducing the South Korea-US joint military exercises.
Jeong appeared on TBS's "Kim Eo-jun's News Factory" on the morning of the 24th and said, "'I have no intention of wasting precious time in talks with the United States' can be interpreted as 'If we do meet, I hope the negotiations will be very serious from the start.'"
Jeong stated, "For example, during the Hanoi summit in February 2019, some common ground was established between the US and North Korea," adding, "If the US side sends a message suggesting starting anew from that point, North Korea will come out."
He also analyzed that North Korea's economic situation makes it difficult for them to outright refuse dialogue with the US. Jeong said, "North Korea's domestic economic conditions make it hard to completely reject or block talks with the US while managing internal affairs," emphasizing, "Especially with the severe food shortage, if talks with the US do not open at all, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) cannot operate, and neither South Korea nor China can provide rice."
He continued, "Our internal situation is such that we must meet with the US quickly, so we emphasized dialogue. It was a desperate signal, but the US side called it an 'interesting signal,' which caused some resentment."
Jeong stressed that progress such as reducing the South Korea-US joint military exercises is necessary to move North Korea. He said, "If we coordinate more closely and quickly with the US regarding the joint exercises and even leak that the issue is progressing well and consultations are underway, it would be different."
Jeong also emphasized that South Korea should take a more proactive role in providing rice and fertilizer support to North Korea. He said, "(Regarding rice and fertilizer support) we need to speak more actively," adding, "As done in the past, we should specify the amount of rice we can provide by certain dates to Nampo Port, Haeju Port, Wonsan Port, and Chongjin Port. If necessary, we can also provide fertilizer. We just need them to designate the receiving locations, something along those lines."
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