• I am uncertain what this means in terms of our ultimate relations with
the North. Until recently, those relations were better today than they were
when I last traveled to Pyongyang. We continue to have several bilateral and
multilateral forums in which we are involved with the North Koreans, and
South Korean president Kim Dae Jung’s “Sunshine Policy” has been endorsed
by his successor, although its survival is very much in doubt given North
Korea’s apparent determination to pursue an active nuclear weapons devel-
opment program. Nonetheless, my experience tends to make me a cautious
believer in a policy of constructive engagement, with limitations. For ex-
ample, it is difficult to justify continuing aid to the DPRK in light of their
missile sales to the Middle East, their consistently antagonistic behavior, and
their dangerous brinksmanship with the nuclear issue; at some point there
needs to be a quid pro quo.
The leading role in dealing with North Korea may by necessity come from
the United States, but it should be closely coordinated with South Korea and
our other allies in that region. It is the ROK that will eventually accept the
burden of political reconciliation, helping the North out of its economic mis-
eries, rebuilding its deteriorating infrastructure, and perhaps most impor-
tantly, reeducating its population. This does not mean that the United States
should abrogate our right to deal directly with the North on any issue we
see fit, nor does it preclude bilateral initiatives. We should also insist that
the United States be consulted closely on any major new ROK-DPRK policy
initiatives, for we have important strategic interests in the area as well as
almost forty thousand troops deployed on the Korean peninsula. Any final
settlement of the deep issues that separate the two Koreas, however, will as
a matter of practical necessity ultimately have the full support of the Kore-
ans themselves, both North and South.
I have been fortunate to enjoy a career and opportunities that few army
officers have been able to experience. It has involved contact and friendships
with interesting people from all walks of life and a firsthand view of many
of the events that have shaped modern Korean history. South Korea is now
a different place from the country I experienced during the s, s,
and s. Its economy has recovered from the downturn of the late s,
and the ROK is now a prospering and confident democracy. Most of the credit
for this metamorphosis should rightly go to hardworking and determined
Koreans. We Americans have also played a role, however, and have remained
steadfast friends and allies during some difficult times. Perhaps that is our
best achievement in the past, and hopefully it will be a future one as well.