Dear Leaders:
The time has come to effectuate a historic change in North
Korea. Already, the federal government
has passed the North Korea Sanctions Enforcement and Policy Act of 2016 and
issued an Executive Order increasing sanctions.
The U.S. led the effort to pass UN Security Council Resolution 2270 and
has led the increased compliance with U.S. and UN sanctions. The State Department has named Kim Jong-Un to
its list of sanctioned individuals and supported the flow of information into
North Korea. The U.S. provided Terminal
High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) to South Korea and has sent important
military assets to the Korean peninsula.
The joint exercises with the South Korean military has further signaled
the U.S. commitment to this important region.
All of this is highly commendable and worthy of praise.
During this potential turning point time, further important
steps await to make history:
- implement secondary sanctions upon Chinese
companies and individuals who are not following the sanctions, as most of North
Korea’s economy is tied up with China.
As China’s largest export market, the U.S. can exert considerable
leverage along these lines. Kim Jong-Un
must not be allowed to heap lavish luxuries upon his cronies while his people
starve. Weakening Kim’s ability to buy
loyalty attenuates his tyrannical reign.
It is outrageous that China has increased trade in 2016 over 2015 with
North Korea in spite of the official sanctions.
Our federal government has taken an initial step in this direction, as
has China. It needs to be done completely.
- prosecute Kim Jong-Un and his top leaders in one
of several possible ways: a) the International Criminal Court through a proprio motu motion of the Prosecutor,
which cannot be blocked by a veto in the Security Council; b) domestic prosecution in South Korea of
these defendants as Korean nationals.
This may be done in absentia
(without the defendants present); c) a hybrid tribunal that brings together the
best that a domestic and international prosecution can bring. Kim and his leadership greatly fear such
accountability. A conviction would make
them fugitives of the law, which would allow for their capture pursuant to the
legal judgment.
- eliminate the slave labor of North Koreans in
foreign countries (such as in Poland), which reportedly brings North Korea over
one billion in revenue.
- prohibit tourism by U.S. citizens into North
Korea as it adds revenue to North Korea and enables them to take U.S. hostages.
- encourage defections by making it easier for
North Korean refugees to find asylum in the U.S. The U.S. is already the greatest haven for
refugees worldwide, and we can build upon the roughly 200 refugees from North
Korea. Defections weaken North Korea and
provide important sources of information.
In North Korea, it is considered high treason to leave the country. Thus, repatriated refugees are regularly
tortured, sent to concentration camps and/or executed.
- continue to include the gross, systematic
violation of human rights into the discussion.
Together with humanitarian considerations, including human rights in
diplomacy actually increases the chances of addressing security concerns;
- consider allowing South Korea to take
affirmative, proactive steps to prevent a nuclear and/or other
catastrophe. The joint exercises are
already moving in this direction.
- in the midst of the flooding, continue
humanitarian aid that the elite do not want (like barley) and that spoils
within months so that it cannot be ferreted away as emergency war rations.
- pass the “Distribution and Promotion of Rights
and Knowledge Act of 2016” (H.R. 4501) further supporting information
conveyance into North Korea, countering the pervasive propaganda.
All of these things can be employed in a determined and
strong diplomatic effort together with South Korea, Japan, and to the greatest
extent possible, China. They would
constitute important components in a comprehensive strategy. Given that North Korea’s 5th
nuclear test was of a nuclear device that can be fitted on an Inter-Continental
Ballistic Missile (ICBM), the urgency of the situation is very high. Admiral
Gortney, who was responsible for protecting the US for missile attacks, has
stated that North Korea’s road-mobile KN-08 is an ICBM. The necessity to prevent a North Korean
disaster is upon us. Please take steps
such as the ones listed above to foreclose security catastrophes, end the worst
human rights situation in the world, and usher in the reunification of Korea,
who can serve as an important ally as our national government has pivoted
towards Asia.
Please do not hesitate to let me know if I may be of
assistance. On behalf of fellow deeply concerned
Americans, who indicate in polls that we consider North Korea as a serious
threat to the United States, I write
Sincerely,
Morse
Tan Professor of Law, NIU Author of the book North Korea, International Law and the Dual
Crises: Narrative and Constructive Engagement (Routledge) as well as the
most law review articles on North Korea. Emerging Leader, Chicago
Council on Global Affairs mtan1@niu.edu (815) 753-1095 (office
phone) |