Experts Urge Action on N. Korea’s WMDs

Defense experts say that if North Korea collapses, the South Korean government should immediately secure Pyongyang’s weapons of mass destruction, including their locations and personnel.

Baek Seung-joo, head of the Center for Security and Strategy at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses in Seoul, also proposed a government team for gathering information on and tracking and arresting North Korean WMD developers who might flee abroad under the guise of refugees.

He said controlling WMDs is a matter of life and death for Koreans and cannot be left in U.S. hands.

Yoo Ho-yeol, a political science professor at Korea University, said Seoul should issue a statement on reunifying the two Koreas if the North falls into anarchy. He said the South should declare its determination for reunification as stipulated in the Constitution.

The two experts also said South Korea should ask the U.N. Security Council for an “authoritative” decision on Korean reunification and control of WMDs.

“Under the U.N. Security Council’s decision, an environment is needed in which Koreans can autonomously discuss the enactment of a unified constitution and the formation of government,” Yoo said.

“A U.N. Security Council resolution is necessary to minimize potential friction among relevant parties, including the United States, that have significant interests in controlling North Korea’s WMDs.”

Kim Yeon-soo, a professor at Korea National Defense University, said, “If the South directly advances to the North, it should win over North Koreans by offering a explanation on the inevitability of a South Korea-led reunification.”

He added Seoul should ensure that Pyongyang’s power elite will accept a South Korea-led reunification, while taking stabilization measures for public security, relief and resource management.

Expecting the collapse of the North food rationing system, Lee Seok, a researcher at the state-run Korea Development Institute, proposed that the South build food stations at schools and markets to allow North Koreans access to food.

le@donga.com