Seoul's leniency on Pyongyang worries some in international community

Unification minister in hot water over interview on lifting North Korea sanctions

By Kang Seung-woo

Concern is rising over the growing discord between South Korea and some in the international community over sanctions on North Korea, following Unification Minister Lee In-young's interview with an overseas media outlet, in which he questioned whether sanctions by the United States and the United Nations (U.N.) on the North were effective.

In the recent interview with the Financial Times, Lee said it was time to reassess the efficacy of the sanctions, adding that the punitive actions have resulted in unintended negative effects on the lives of ordinary North Koreans. His remarks were in line with the Moon Jae-in administration's stance of easing or lifting the sanctions on North Korea in order to engage Pyongyang as part of the President's peace initiative.

However, some members of the U.S. government and diplomatic observers here say the minister has misread the reason for the humanitarian crisis in North Korea, expressing worries that such a claim could obscure the real causes of the poor livelihoods of the North Korean people.

"The fault of the abysmal condition of the North people lies squarely with the regime and not on sanctions. Blaming sanctions for the dire conditions of the North Korean people diverts attention from the real reason, which is the nature and policies of the North Korean regime," said Bruce Klingner, a former CIA analyst and senior researcher at the Heritage Foundation.

"Pyongyang's socialist economic policies, prioritizing defense spending over the needs of the people, resistance to foreign assistance, unwillingness to abide by previous commitments, and its self-imposed isolation are the real culprits for the devastating economic and food situation within North Korea."

Klingner noted that there are no U.N. or U.S. sanctions on food, medicine, or humanitarian assistance and each resolution and law has specific language emphasizing that the restrictive measures are not intended to restrict such assistance.

"North Korea has rejected offers of food and assistance from the U.S., South Korea and others. Donors have been deterred by Pyongyang's resistance to the economic reforms necessary to prevent a recurrent need for assistance. Over the years, humanitarian aid groups left North Korea because the regime put constrictions on the group or on verifying the distribution of aid. Cases of inadvertent delays are addressed by a U.N. panel," he said

Robert Manning, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, also refuted the unification minister's claim.

"In light of Kim Jong-un's accelerated efforts to improve his nuclear and ballistic missile programs, it makes no sense to lift any U.N. sanctions, and throw away leverage," Manning said.

"In terms of North Korea's internal situation, Kim has done more harm with his self-imposed sanctions ― closing borders, eliminating any cross-border travel, horrible economic mismanagement, shutting markets, bad policies, and refusing ROK medical help ― than the U.N. sanctions have done. If he wants food aid, how about us giving him one million tons of food for each nuclear weapon he verifiably destroys?"

The U.S. State Department also disagreed with Minister Lee's questioning of the sanctions, with its spokesman arguing that the North's response to the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly hindering the efforts of humanitarian organizations, U.N. agencies and other countries to deliver aid to those most in need.

In addition, another refutation from the European Union (EU) is further cornering the unification minister.

"The primary responsibility for economic and social challenges facing vulnerable people in the DPRK rests with the policies of the DPRK government," Nabila Massrali, the EU's spokesperson for foreign affairs and security policy, told Radio Free Asia.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks on foreign policy at the State Department in Washington, D.C., Wednesday. President Joe Biden's administration is rethinking the U.S. approach and policies toward North Korea. AP-Yonhap

Joseph DeTrani, a former U.S. special envoy to the six-party talks, said unilaterally lifting certain sanctions without a corresponding gesture from the North was "not tenable."

"Providing information to the people of North Korea should not be a crime, per se. If there are security issues that impact the safety of South Korean nationals living adjacent to the DMZ, then that needs to be effectively presented," he said, referring to the South Korean National Assembly's passing of a bill banning the sending of propaganda leaflets critical of the Kim regime into the North.

U.S. Naval War College Professor Terence Roehrig said sanctions were a tricky issue in terms of their effectiveness regarding the denuclearization of North Korea.

"Despite the many times they are used, there is little evidence that sanctions are effective in changing state behavior. Often, economic sanctions are utilized because there is a perceived need to do something in response to a state action, but the use of force goes too far," Roehrig said.

"Economic sanctions have and are likely to continue to have little effect in coercing North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. However, sanctions have likely played a role in constraining Pyongyang's development of its nuclear and missile capabilities."

According to the professor, sanctions initially targeted the North Korean regime and its elite power structure, but a string of nuclear and missile tests have resulted in expanded sanctions, having a greater impact on the North Korean people and the larger economy.

"Complete denuclearization of North Korea is unlikely, but if there is any possibility of progress in constraining the North Korean threat, possibly through a formal testing moratorium or reducing the North Korean conventional threat, some element of relaxing sanctions will need to be on the table," Roehrig added.

In response to the interview with Lee, Harry Kazianis, senior director of Korean Studies at the Center for the National Interest, said the Joe Biden administration may be concerned about disagreements between Seoul and Washington on how to deal with issues involving North Korea.

"I do believe that the Biden team seriously considers the views of the Moon government when it comes to North Korea policy, as they have stated clearly that feedback from allies is important to them, which is a departure from the Trump years," he said.

Amid growing criticism of Lee's remarks, the unification ministry said, Wednesday, that the minister did not mean that international sanctions were the sole reason behind the humanitarian crisis in North Korea.

"He meant to say that it is necessary to comprehensively review whether sanctions are contributing positively to achieving the purpose of facilitating the denuclearization of North Korea," Lee Jong-joo, the ministry's spokeswoman, told reporters.

"The remarks were based on the perception that it is time to comprehensively review the efficacy of sanctions, as it has been about five years since such tough sanctions were adopted."

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