Tension is rising on the Korean Peninsula, as the United Nations Security Council has adopted a new resolution seeking further sanctions on North Korea. The communist regime has confronted the U.N. move with strong countermeasures. On June 13, the U.N. Security Council unanimously approved Resolution 1874, which bans North Korea from trading all weapons and allows U.N. member states to inspect suspicious North Korean cargo ships in international waters. In addition, the resolution prohibits all financial aid to North Korea unless the assistance has humanitarian or development purposes. The financial restriction, which is aimed at completely blocking the flow of money in and out of the country, is considered to be a tougher sanction against the North. It is also notable that the resolution calls for the establishment of a group consisting of seven experts to implement and supervise the new enforcement measures effectively. According to Jang Yong-seok, director at the Institute for Peace Affairs, what really matters is the process of putting the new resolution into action.

The latest resolution is an expanded and much tougher one, compared to Resolution 1718 that was imposed in 2006 following North Korea’s first nuclear test, since the fresh resolution includes measures for actually carrying out sanctions. Now, the most important concern is how actively each country will cooperate to put the sanctions into operation. In other words, the future implementation process merits greater attention. With future negotiations in mind, China and Russia maintain that involved countries should not further isolate North Korea, despite the adoption of the resolution slapping sanctions on the North. So it’s doubtful whether these two countries will be cooperative when actually implementing sanctions against the North. It’s uncertain, either, how many countries will join the drive, apart from some advanced countries in the West and those in close cooperation with them.

Meanwhile, North Korea has responded to the new U.N. resolution quickly and strongly. Only 15 hours after the adoption of the resolution, North Korea’s Foreign Ministry lashed out at the U.N. move and said an all-out confrontation with the United States has begun. Pyongyang also said the nation would produce weapons with the entire amount of its newly extracted plutonium and start a uranium enrichment program. The North threatened to take military action if the U.S. and other governments attempt to impose a blockade on the nation, considering it as an act of war. In particular, North Korea repeated its own claim that it is now a nuclear power, saying that it makes no difference to the North whether its nuclear status is recognized by other countries or not. Mr. Jang continues to explain.

I think North Korea seeks to strengthen its status as a nuclear state in a bid to start negotiations with new agendas and formats. This strategic choice is related to the nation’s goal of building a ‘powerful North Korea’ by 2012 and implementing a power transfer in light of North Korean leader Kim Jong-il’s poor health. A ‘powerful North Korea’ here means a military power. To this end, it’s very important to own nuclear weapons. Also, for the sake of power succession, the possession of nuclear weapons is crucial to gain support from the military and other hard-line forces in charge of regime maintenance. I don’t think North Korea’s ultimate goal is to simply possess nuclear weapons. The nation used the nuclear issue to ensure its security in the past, but now, it wants the assurance of its regime security and a leadership transition as well.

North Korea has declared the start of its uranium enrichment program, which it had been denying for years. Experts are now interested in the level of its technology. North Korea is known to have imported about 20 centrifuges for uranium enrichment and a blueprint from Pakistan. North Korea was also suspected of building its own centrifuges when it purchased 150 tons of high-impact aluminum tubes in 2002. Experts speculate North Korea could begin uranium enrichment technically, but it has yet to fully secure relevant parts. Meanwhile, the U.S. government has announced strong counteractions against the North’s uranium enrichment plan. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton expressed deep regret over Pyongyang’s continuing provocative actions and said Washington intends to do all it can to prevent nuclear proliferation by the North Koreans. The U.S. is also reportedly considering imposing its own, additional financial sanctions against North Korea, with the Treasury Department officially taking issue with North Korea’s links to the so-called ‘supernote,’ which refers to a fake 100-dollar bill. Back in 2005, the U.S. designated Banco Delta Asia, a bank in Macau, as a “primary money-laundering concern” for its suspicious role in facilitating Pyongyang’s illicit financial activities. Experts predict that a fierce tug-of-war between North Korea and the U.S. will continue for some time.

I imagine the situation will be worse for the time being. North Korea has already declared the start of its uranium enrichment program in protest of the U.N. Security Council’s resolution. So, it’s unlikely the North will come back to the negotiation table anytime soon. Tension will escalate in the process of implementing the U.N. resolution, while Washington’s financial sanctions against the North will cause strong resistance from the communist country. Also, we cannot rule out the possibility of a military clash involving North Korea in the course of operating the U.S.-led Proliferation Security Initiative. Pyongyang’s defiant reactions include the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile, another nuclear test and the activation of a uranium enrichment program. An ICBM launch, in particular, could be carried out as a short-term strategy. I think it will take a considerable amount of time for North Korea to ease its aggressive attitude.

Experts stress the need to think more about what to do next after imposing sanctions on North Korea, rather than the impending sanctions themselves, amid the protracted confrontation between North Korea and the international community. Involved countries should make more efforts to come up with appropriate diplomatic solutions that will elicit a gradual change from North Korea, while creating momentum for fresh dialogue.


[Interview] Former N. Korean Defectors Conduct Culture Education for Senior Citizens
Students are learning how to play accordion in a lecture room of the ‘North Korean Defectors Federation of Arts and Culture’ building in Sinwol-dong, western Seoul. The students and the teacher alike are all smiles here at the , an arts and culture program for older people. Each district of Seoul City runs this educational program, using its own cultural and welfare facilities. In contrast to similar programs in other regions, this accordion class is conducted by a group of artists who were former North Korean defectors. Here’s federation director Han Jong-gu to tell us more about the group.

This group consists of North Korean defectors who engaged in art and cultural activities in their home country. These artists, who had hammered out tunes on keyboard instruments in North Korea, were, of course, reluctant to hammer nails here in the South. They wanted to continue their artistic career after arriving in South Korea. But it was challenging for them to find jobs in professional art groups here. While wondering what they could do, they heard about open recruitment by the Seoul Foundation for Arts and Culture. They were eager to teach senior citizens how to play the accordion, so they applied for the job. Fortunately, they were selected as teachers of the educational program for older people. So they have taught 30 senior citizens at the Yangcheon Welfare Center for the Elderly.

The accordion class was held every Tuesday and Thursday last year, enjoying great popularity among older people. The class is being offered in the same way again this year. The North Korean teachers have also organized a club of accordion lovers. Around the year’s end, they plan to create an accordion band of senior citizens, the first of its kind in the nation. And this isn’t the only class conducted by the North Korean artists. Some entertaining programs, similar to this North Korean-style gag show, are also available here. They are designed to help the senior citizens learn more about North Korean culture and reality. Organizers focus on developing more diverse and interesting programs to make the elderly feel more pleasant and younger, both physically and mentally.

Last year, we offered lectures on politics, economy, culture, arts and the lives of older people in North Korea. This year, we’ve supplemented and diversified the programs so the participants can learn North Korean gags and watch North Korean movies without ideological elements, such as the classic Korean love story, “Chunhyang,” and the stories of the Korean version of Robin Hood, “Hong Gil-dong” and “Lim Kkeok-jeong.” During the vacation period, we’re planning on two rounds of one-day or two-day field trips to North Korea-related places, including the Unification Observatory and a tunnel that North Korean infiltrators secretly dug under the Demilitarized Zone.

The older participants show great interest in North Korean culture, which isn’t easy to experience in other places. They are very satisfied with this program, through which they’ve been able to throw away prejudices against North Korean defectors and gain self-confidence that they can do something despite their old age. These senior citizens remind Mr. Han of his North Korean hometown and his parents who passed away. Whenever feeling down, he finds comfort in this art class for older people.

My parents died two years before I came here. My heart is broken whenever thinking of my parents, who couldn’t receive proper education and endured a hard life to raise their children in North Korea. While teaching senior citizens here, I hope to give them something I couldn’t give to my own parents. I wonder if there are any better programs I can offer them and how I can make them feel happier. Also, it’s very significant that we help the South Korean public recognize the fact that North Korean artists are doing something useful here in the South.

In addition to teaching South Korean senior citizens, Han also hopes to extend his role in bridging the cultures of South and North Korea. Here in South Korea, the North Korean artists continue to develop the expertise they’ve accumulated in their home country with the hope of reducing the cultural gap between the two Koreas.