Kim Jong-dae: "US Soldier Who Ran from the South... North Korea's Most Absurd Situation"

Former Lawmaker Kim Jong-dae CBS Radio Interview
"May Contact the US Under the Pretext of Soldier Personal Information Issue"

Regarding the unprecedented incident in which a U.S. Forces Korea soldier crossed the Military Demarcation Line while touring the Panmunjom Joint Security Area (JSA), former Justice Party lawmaker Kim Jong-dae called it "the most absurd situation for North Korea."

Military security expert Kim appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the 20th and said, "(North Korea) has never seen a soldier running over like that from the South side," adding, "The ones who were flustered were North Korea."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim predicted that North Korea would be troubled by the 'defection incident.' This is because there is no similar precedent in the past, and there is no extradition agreement between North Korea and the U.S. Additionally, there are concerns about the spread of COVID-19. He said, "For now, in North Korea, where the aftereffects of COVID are not completely over, they will be fearful on one hand," adding, "They might also think that some kind of disease could be transmitted."

However, Kim pointed out, "If you change your perspective, there is no such lucky break as this." He said, "The United Nations Command might hold a general-level meeting or attempt contact with North Korea for follow-up measures," adding, "Kim Yong-chol, the Director General of the Reconnaissance General Bureau, has returned to his post, and since they were planning a major deal with the U.S. and Japan, if a soldier came, the U.S. government would surely propose negotiations with North Korea, and then unprecedentedly favorable talks for North Korea could begin."

He continued, "The liberal tradition of the U.S. is very sensitive to issues like prisoners of war or hostages from enemy countries," adding, "First of all, confirming the identity and current safety of the soldier who defected is the government's basic duty, and neglecting this would be a crime."

Regarding the view that this incident could be an opportunity to improve inter-Korean or North Korea-U.S. relations, Kim said, "It is difficult to expect it to play such a strategic role in easing tensions at this point," but added, "However, since North Korea is currently conducting new exploratory operations toward the U.S. and Japan, they could use the soldier's identity issue as a pretext to contact the U.S., and in the process, a general-level meeting of the United Nations Command could be held."

He added, "This is a very important resource for North Korea to manage the situation," and said, "In fact, since it would be in the form of responding to a dialogue proposal first made by the U.S., it has good justification, and from this perspective, it could open a channel for previously severed talks and allow North Korea to take a favorable position in managing the situation."