Chapter 49 The "Dinner Table Theory" of Solving the North Korean Nuclear Weapons Issue

Since the outbreak of the North Korean nuclear weapons crisis in October 2002, the crisis on the Korean Peninsula caused by North Korean nuclear weapons has continued to be tense.And how does our government respond?Our government's perception of North Korea's nuclear weapons can be confirmed from the president's remarks.North Korea announced the development of nuclear weapons at the time of the six-party talks in November 2004. In order to prevent this, President Roh Moo-hyun said in Los Angeles: "North Korea advocates that the development of nuclear weapons is for self-defense purposes. I think it makes sense to some extent.” Later, North Korea’s nuclear weapons test was still enforced, and just two months later, in December 2006, President Roh Moo-hyun said in New Zealand: “North Korea will not It has an advantage over South Korea's military." However, these words only made the outside world more skeptical.

If North Korea equips itself with nuclear weapons, the land where our people live may be ruined in an instant. Even if the chance is one in ten thousand, as long as someone creates that possibility, it is outrageous.No matter how much money we spend on the latest state-of-the-art weapons and increasing the number of our troops, we are rendered useless in the face of nuclear weapons.What's more, the situation on the Korean peninsula is on a dangerous rope due to the issue of North Korea's nuclear weapons. At this point in time, will foreign investors come to South Korea with confidence to set up factories or R&D centers?

I believe that North Korea’s development of nuclear weapons must be stopped. My thoughts have not changed. Nuclear weapons must be completely abolished. This is the consensus of South Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, which participated in the Six-Party Talks outside of North Korea. , and believes that to get North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons testing, it must clearly state the benefits and disadvantages of giving up and not giving up nuclear weapons. When the issue of North Korean nuclear weapons broke out for the first time, as the representative of the leading opposition party, I could no longer stand idly by.So in February 2005, one month after the DPRK announced its nuclear weapons reservation declaration, that is, a visit to the United States was arranged in March, and a visit to China was arranged in May to explain the solution I conceived to solve the DPRK nuclear weapon issue, please the two countries Actively work together and further persuade on the importance of restoring trust between the core parties, the United States and North Korea, and the need for China to coordinate efforts between North Korea and the United States.

When I visited the United States, I expressed my thoughts on North Korea’s nuclear weapons in speeches at the Heritage Foundation, a research institution representing American conservatism, and Columbia University, using the “dinner table theory” as an example. "When dining in the West, soup, main course, and dessert are served sequentially, but on a Korean table, rice, noodles, soup, and vegetables are served all at once. Although the issue of North Korea's nuclear weapons can also be like the American style, it can be done in stages. step-by-step approach, but for Koreans, we are more accustomed to putting all the solutions on one table and solving them at once.”

The military officers from the Ministry of Defense listened attentively and took notes. It can be truly felt that the top leaders of the United States are also paying close attention to the issue of North Korea's nuclear weapons. After the speech, the question kept coming up. Thomson Hooper, the former US ambassador to South Korea, said: "I am very concerned about the paragraph 'The United States should not only think theoretically about North Korea's nuclear weapons issue. My words are very impressive.” He also expressed his deep empathy, and regarding what I said, “Looking at the long line of people outside the US embassy in the early hours of the morning in order to receive US visas, even many people who support the South Korea-US alliance Koreans also feel that their pride has been hurt.” Everyone listened very seriously to his words.

In my keynote speech at Columbia University, in order to show how hopeful the future would be if North Korea gave up its nuclear weapons, I advocated a "North Korean version of the recovery plan" with the goal of "North Korean economic reconstruction" and emphasized the need to be able to propose bold and concrete Benefits do.On the contrary, I also explained in detail what kind of negative impact would be produced if North Korea does not give up its nuclear weapons, and emphasized that creating an environment that allows North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons is our future policy goal.

After the speech, the students continued to ask questions enthusiastically.A student raised his hand and asked, "With regard to the South Korea-US alliance, what method do you think the US should intervene in?" "For the sake of the new South Korea-US alliance, whether it is South Korea or the United States, both sides must think from the other side's standpoint. There is an idiom in the East called 'Yi Di Si Zhi', which means that if you want to become a more trustworthy friend, you must put yourself in the other's shoes Think about it from the standpoint of the other side, and I think that in addition to the South Korea-US alliance, the North Korean nuclear issue also needs such efforts.”

Solving the North Korean nuclear issue was one of the most important issues when I was a representative of the Grand National Party. I will continue to work hard until North Korea completely abandons its nuclear weapons and the Korean peninsula achieves peace and stability. Never waver.