The Korea Society hosted a meeting of the advisory council of the Korea Economic Institute that featured a luncheon address by Han Song Ryol, the deputy permanent representative of the DPRK to the United Nations. In his address, Han stressed that the pervasive hostility in the U.S.-DPRK relationship is a result of the fact that both sides possess nuclear weapons and not vice versa. He noted that the DPRK ultimately would like to reach an agreement with the U.S. similar to the 1994 Agreed Framework, but it is concerned that if an agreement were to be reached the U.S. would then "move the goalposts" by predicating any further improvement in ties on the achievement of progress on other issues such as human rights and conventional arms reduction. In the Q&A session following Han's address, the issue of the DPRK's stance on electricity aid was raised by one of the advisory council members. Citing the DPRK's consistent demand for the delivery of LWRs in exchange for denuclearization, the questioner wondered how this demand could be squared with the urgent need in the DPRK for a stable electricity supply. Considering that LWRs wouldn't be able to generate the necessary electricity for years, the questioner noted, it is difficult to understand why the DPRK has been less than enthusiastic about South Korea's offer to run power lines over the DMZ since this approach would make the needed electricity available much sooner. Han replied that his government is focused on the LWR option because the country has an abundant domestic supply of uranium. He also added that the DPRK has many Soviet-trained nuclear engineers, and building a power system around any other source would be unfair to them. Asserting interest in the potential for democratization in the DPRK, another questioner inquired who would assume power in the country after Kim Jong-Il has passed from the scene. With a wry smile, Han replied that he was tasked with explaining his country’s external affairs and couldn't comment on internal developments. Pressed to give his personal view of U.S. policy, Han replied, "As I've emphasized, I want to see the hostility [between our countries] brought to an end...if we want to have better feelings on both sides, we have to look forward and leave the past behind."

with 

Han Song Ryol
Deputy Permanent Representative of the DPRK to the United Nations

Monday, October 31, 2005