Statement
From Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter on Current U.S.-North Korea Relations
By Jimmy Carter
Global
Research, September 05, 2017
The Carter Center 10 August 2017
The
harsh rhetoric from Washington and Pyongyang during recent months has
exacerbated an already confrontational relationship between our countries, and
has probably eliminated any chance of good faith peace talks between the United
States and North Korea. In addition to restraining the warlike rhetoric, our
leaders need to encourage talks between North Korea and other countries,
especially China and Russia.
The
recent UN Security Council unanimous vote for new sanctions suggests that these
countries could help. In all cases, a nuclear exchange must be avoided.
All parties must assure North Koreans they we will forego any military action
against them if North Korea remains peaceful.
I
have visited North Korea three times, and have spent more than 20 hours in
discussions with their political leaders regarding important issues that affect
U.S.-DPRK relations.
In
June 1994, I met with Kim Il Sung in a time of crisis, when he
agreed to put all their nuclear programs under strict supervision of the
International Atomic Energy Agency and to seek mutual agreement with the United
States on a permanent peace treaty, to have summit talks with the president of
South Korea, to expedite the recovery of the remains of American service
personnel buried in his country, and to take other steps to ease tension on the
peninsula. Kim Il Sung died shortly after my visit, and his successor, Kim
Jong Il, notified me and leaders in Washington that he would honor the
promises made by his father. These obligations were later confirmed officially
in negotiations in Geneva by Robert Gallucci and other
representatives of the Clinton administration.
I
returned to Pyongyang in August 2010, at the invitation of North Korean
leaders, to bring home Aijalon Gomes, an American who had been
detained there. My last visit to North Korea was in May 2011 when I led a
delegation of Elders (former presidents of Ireland and Finland and former prime
minister of Norway) to assure the delivery of donated food directly to needy
people.
During
all these visits, the North Koreans emphasized that they wanted
peaceful relations with the United States and their neighbors, but were
convinced that we planned a preemptive military strike against their country. They
wanted a peace treaty (especially with America) to replace the ceasefire
agreement that had existed since the end of the Korean War in 1953,
and to end the economic sanctions that had been very damaging to them during
that long interim period. They have made it clear to me and others that their
first priority is to assure that their military capability is capable of
destroying a large part of Seoul and of responding strongly in other ways to
any American attack. The influence of China in Pyongyang seems to be greatly
reduced since Kim Jong Un became the North Korean leader in
December 2011.
A
commitment to peace by the United States and North Korea is crucial.
When
this confrontational crisis is ended, the United States should be prepared to
consummate a permanent treaty to replace the ceasefire of 1953. The
United States should make this clear, to North Koreans and to our allies.
The
original source of this article is The Carter Center
Copyright
© Jimmy Carter, The Carter Center, 2017
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