May 8, 2024: Washington D.C., Day 3, Meetings in NED, Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Brookings Institution
“What should the U.S. do right now to prevent North Korea’s nuclear proliferation?”
Hello. Today is the third day of Venerable Pomnyun Sunim’s meetings in Washington D.C. with U.S. government officials, members of Congress, and think tank representatives for peace on the Korean peninsula.
Sunim started his day at 5 AM with the 1000-Day Practice and meditation at the Washington Jungto Center.
After breakfast, the Jungto practitioners residing at the Washington Jungto Center presented Sunim with flowers in celebration of Teacher’s Day (May 15th in Korea) although today is actually Parents’ Day (May 8th in Korea). However, since he would be in Korea on Teacher’s Day, they gave him flowers in advance.
“We promised to spread the Dharma worldwide during the second 10,000- Day Practice, you are still doing a lot of the work. From now on, we will take over the responsibility of spreading the Dharma globally.”
“Thank you.”
Sunim will also be meeting many people today. We left for Washington D.C. at 8 AM.
At 9 AM, we arrived at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) office. Lynn Lee, the Deputy Director, warmly welcomed Sunim.
Lynn Lee had helped edit the English translation of “North Korea Today” for a year in 2008 when it was regularly published by Good Friends. NED staff members in charge of North Korea were also present.
After exchanging greetings, Sunim initiated the conversation with a smile.
“I’ll start by explaining about the situation in North Korea to educate the NED staff. I think I should get paid for this after the meeting.” (laughter)
Sunim then explained in detail how North Korea’s national economic structure operates. He pointed out that U.S. economic sanctions often fail due to a lack of understanding of this structure.
How Effective Have the Economic Sanctions Been Against North Korea?
“The current U.S. economic sanctions against North Korea have largely been ineffective in reaching the intended goals. This is due to a lack of understanding of North Korea’s economic structure. In the U.S. and South Korea, there is a unified national economy. However, in North Korea, there are two main economies: the national economy centered around the Cabinet and the military-industrial economy known as the Second Economy. There’s also a smaller-scale Party Economy that serves as the leader’s ruling fund. Each economy operates independently. Thus, when sanctions are imposed to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by restricting overseas workers or shutting down the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mt. Kumgang tourism, such measures don’t significantly impact the military-industrial economy, which is responsible for developing weapons of mass destruction. While these measures do hurt the national economy and the livelihood of the people, they don’t prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Sanctions should be targeted toward their intended goals.
Some people claim, ‘The money earned by overseas workers is used for missile development’ or ‘Profits from the Kaesong Industrial Complex are used for nuclear development,’ but these statements are made without understanding North Korea’s economic operations. North Korean defectors don’t necessarily know all about North Korea’s internal affairs, just as South Koreans don’t know everything about all the different sectors in South Korea.
Sanctions against people’ livelihoods constitute human rights violations. They aren’t effective in opening North Korea to the outside world and don’t promote marketization. Sanctions are ineffective because they’re imposed emotionally, based on the notion, ‘North Korea is evil, so we must make them suffer.’ In fact, such sanctions strengthen the North Korean regime’s control over its citizens by reducing individual incomes and making them more dependent on the government.
When the Lee Myung-bak administration took office in South Korea and inter-Korean relations turned confrontational, North Korea found a justification to strengthen internal control. The hardline North Korea policy of the Lee administration ultimately resulted in reducing the freedom of North Korean people. For 10 years after the Arduous March (famine in North Korea), it became increasingly difficult for the North Korean regime to control its people. However, the confrontational inter-Korean situation provided a pretext for the regime to reassert control.
The policy of pressuring North Korea to collapse from the outside hasn’t been effective over the past 30 years. Therefore, I believe it’s best to foster internal changes in North Korea. Expanding the market is essential for this. While expanding the market doesn’t guarantee a transition to democracy (as China expanded its market while tightening control), it still helps with reform. When the market expands, more people become self-reliant, and information circulates quickly through the market. Hence, a policy that encourages internal changes in North Korea is necessary.”
Sunim continued by explaining various perspectives and examples on a practical approach to improving North Korea’s human rights situation.
After two hours of conversation, Dr. Lynn Lee expressed her gratitude to Sunim.
“Yes, thank you. Next time you’re in the U.S., I’d like to arrange a session for the U.S. Congress members and think tank representatives to hear your lecture.”
They concluded the meeting, agreeing to arrange discussions during Sunim’s next visit to Washington D.C. to foster a correct understanding of North Korea. After taking a group photo, we left the NED at 11 AM.
We immediately headed to the U.S. Capitol for the next meeting with Brad Sherman, a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee who proposed the “Peace on the Korean Peninsula Act.” They went to his office in the Rayburn House Office Building next to the Capitol.
Last year, due to the federal government shutdown, Sunim had been unable to meet Congressman Sherman and had to convey his message to Sherman’s East Asia aide. Fortunately, today, Sunim could speak directly with Congressman Sherman.
“Thank you for making time to meet despite your busy schedule. I want to express my gratitude for your efforts and for proposing legislation for peace on the Korean peninsula. Although you’re already doing a lot, I’m here to ask to do more.” (laughter)
“It’s okay.”
Sunim emphasized the importance of the U.S. quickly stopping North Korea’s nuclear proliferation for peace on the Korean peninsula and in East Asia.
“North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction are proliferating as its military cooperation with Russia strengthens. The Biden administration is virtually neglecting this situation, so the U.S. needs to intervene quickly to halt this. I hope you can add this to your efforts.”
What Should the U.S. Do Right Now to Prevent North Korea’s Nuclear Proliferation?
Congressman Sherman directly asked what the U.S. needs to do now.
“If you could tell us just one thing America should do right now, what would it be?”
“Since denuclearizing North Korea is difficult at the moment, we should stop North Korea’s nuclear proliferation through a nuclear freeze and normalize North Korea-U.S. relations.”
“I have now reached the same conclusion as you because the goal of denuclearizing North Korea has failed over the past 20 years. I also thought about maintaining the nuclear weapons that have already been developed but reducing their quantity. But does Kim Jong-un really want to normalize North Korea-U.S. relations?”
“North Korea has two national goals. The first and foremost is maintaining the regime. To do that, they need security, and to ensure national security, they need nuclear weapons. The second is economic development. They want both, but in reality, they have to choose one. The U.S. demands that North Korea give up its nuclear weapons in exchange for economic development. But North Korea insists on keeping its nuclear weapons. Thus, instead of demanding denuclearization, we should offer a compromise: provide economic benefits if North Korea freezes its nuclear program. This isn’t about providing economic aid but lifting economic sanctions that affect people’s livelihoods. Once mutual trust is built between the U.S. and North Korea, detailed inspections can begin to verify the nuclear freeze.
It’s challenging to stop North Korea’s nuclear development without offering the normalization of North Korea-U.S. relations. In the Six-Party Talks, normalizing North Korea-U.S. relations was set as the final step of denuclearization, but this plan is no longer valid and must be abandoned. With North Korea’s status now changed due to Russian and Chinese backing, the normalization of relations should be the beginning step of denuclearization.
In fact, North Korea-U.S. normalization should have been done in 1992 when both Koreas joined the United Nations simultaneously. When South Korea established diplomatic relations with Russia and China, North Korea should have done the same thing with the U.S. and Japan. Since it’s something that should have been done a long time ago, you can’t view it as a gift to North Korea.”
“I’m very happy because your proposal is the same one I’ve been advocating for the past 20 years.”
“Please advocate for this more strongly in Congress so that it can be swiftly implemented. The longer it takes, the more weapons of mass destruction will proliferate.”
Although short, the key message was fully delivered. Due to his next appointment, Congressman Sherman couldn’t continue the conversation but asked his aide to receive more detailed explanations from Sunim. After agreeing to keep communicating for peace on the Korean peninsula and Northeast Asia, we left the office.
At 1 PM, Sunim’s meeting with Senate Foreign Relations Committee aides took place at the Dirksen Senate Office Building next to the Capitol.
It had been almost 10 years since Sunim last visited the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He used to visit frequently to appeal for aid for North Korean refugees and humanitarian assistance during the mass starvation in North Korea. He came to meet the Committee again today due to the recent increased risk of war on the Korean peninsula.
For 30 minutes, Sunim emphasized the necessity of improving North Korea-U.S. relations and freezing North Korea’s nuclear program.
“It’s challenging for North Korea to denuclearize immediately. Nevertheless, if left to their own devices, North Korea will continue to produce nuclear weapons. So, we must first enforce a nuclear freeze. Whether North Korea has 5 nuclear weapons or 50 depends on our choice. We should accept North Korea possessing the minimum number of nuclear weapons necessary to sustain their regime while preventing them from being used offensively or proliferating to other countries. I believe we can reach this level of agreement. Right now, the urgent task is to stop nuclear development and prevent proliferation. I hope this issue will be discussed in the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Currently, the Biden administration claims, ‘We are unconditionally leaving the door open for talks,’ but this alone cannot bring North Korea to the negotiating table. The U.S. is essentially neglecting North Korea’s nuclear development.”
The aides then asked Sunim questions about various concerns. One aide expressed concern about how to control nuclear development in other countries.
How Should We Respond to Other Countries Also Wanting to Become Nuclear States?
“If North Korea’s nuclear weapons are tolerated, other countries will also want to become nuclear weapons states. What do you think about this?”
“It will naturally have a negative impact on other countries. However, there’s no other way to stop North Korea’s nuclear development. We’ve already seen this with India and Pakistan. We can strengthen sanctions before a country develops nuclear weapons. But nuclear weapons have already been developed in North Korea, so there is no other way but to accept it. North Korea’s nuclear weapons won’t disappear just because we refuse to recognize them. Since they’ve already been developed, we must prevent further proliferation.
This will likely lead to calls for nuclear development in South Korea. However, South Korea won’t pursue nuclear development at the cost of economic sanctions. South Koreans don’t want to live in poverty, so they will give up on nuclear development. Thus, nuclear development ambition in other countries can be controlled through economic sanctions.”
More questions followed. The aides asked Sunim how the recent constitutional amendment in North Korea, which specified South Korea as a primary enemy, affected South Korea’s policy, how he assesses the Yoon Suk-yeol administration’s North Korea policy, and the extent of China’s influence on North Korea. Sunim answered these questions, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee aides looked very encouraged by Sunim’s suggestions.
After an hour of conversation, Sunim made a final request.
“Please assess North Korea’s situation accurately and establish a more sophisticated North Korea policy. There are 25 million people in North Korea. I hope they won’t be made to suffer any longer.”
“We will always think about the suffering that North Korea’s 25 million residents are experiencing.”
We agreed to continue exchanging frequent communication and concluded the meeting.
After the meetings with the NED, Congressman Sherman’s office, and the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, we felt a growing sense of hope.
At 2 PM., we left the Senate Office Building and had a boxed lunch. Sitting on a bench in front of the Botanical Garden, we quickly finished lunch in 10 minutes and immediately moved to the next meeting location.
At 3 PM., Sunim had a meeting with Dr. Andrew Yeo at the Brookings Institution, a highly influential social science research institute in the U.S.
Dr. Andrew Yeo has conducted extensive research focused on U.S. foreign policy towards Korea and its relationship with North Korea. Recently, he asked Sunim for advice on various security issues, including North Korea’s hardline stance against South Korea and the withdrawal of U.S. forces from South Korea.
After a 90-minute conversation, Sunim made some concluding remarks.
A New Approach Toward North Korea is Needed
“There are many issues on the Korean peninsula, but I believe security is the most important issue right now. For the U.S. to negotiate with North Korea, practical agreements can only be reached through a top-down approach where the highest leadership reaches an agreement first, followed by implementation at the working level. This is because no one at the working level in North Korea has decision-making authority. They are very efficient at executing orders from above. Instead of the U.S. maintaining an ‘always open for dialogue’ stance, it would be much faster to reach negotiations if President Biden sent a simple letter inquiring about North Korea’s highest leader’s well-being. I would like to see the North Korea-U.S. policy implemented based on such an understanding of North Korea.
Rather than debating whether a nuclear freeze means recognizing nuclear weapons or not, the focus should be on preventing the risk of nuclear proliferation. After the U.S. presidential election, regardless of who becomes president, the North Korea issue should be resolved early in the new administration’s term. If delayed, the next election will be upon us, making it impossible to resolve the issue. Negotiations with North Korea should begin early in the term, when there’s no consideration of the next election.”
“Your suggestion that a new approach is needed has inspired us. Thank you.”
After the conversation, Sunim gifted his English-translated book to the Brookings Institution staff.
“This book is about finding peace of mind. External peace is important, but peace of mind should come first. It’s a very short book, so I hope you read it.”
After taking a commemorative photo, we left the institution, promising to meet again.
We moved to the next meeting location for the last meeting of the day.
At 5 PM, Sunim met Professor Hyun-sook Kim at a café in Washington D.C. She had heard that Sunim recently began a sustainable development model project in Bhutan and wanted to offer some good ideas based on her experience working in Bhutan. They had a conversation when Sunim visited the U.S. last September, and today was their second meeting.
Professor Kim greeted Sunim with a smile.
“Thank you so much for making time to meet with me despite your tight schedule. I’ve read about your visits to Bhutan for sustainable development in ‘A Day with Sunim.’ I read your updates every day.” (laughter)
Sunim explained the ongoing sustainable development project in Bhutan in detail. After listening to Sunim’s explanation, Professor Kim asked questions and offered her ideas.
The Importance of Providing Consciousness Education to Bhutanese Residents
“Bhutanese people need sustainable development that you’re working on, but they also need everyday happiness. The Gross National Happiness (GNH) index is a national discourse, but Bhutan has only had 14 years of democracy, and most Bhutanese people I’ve met don’t know what GNH is. Thus, awareness education for Bhutanese people is crucial. To prevent the climate crisis, Bhutanese people must understand the global importance of the Himalayan mountains from an environmental perspective to avoid being swept away by capitalism. I’m curious about your thoughts on this.”
Sunim spoke about Bhutan’s current situation, which he had observed during his five field visits.
“In Bhutan, young people have already left the rural areas, leaving only the elderly. It’s challenging to gather the elderly and talk about the climate crisis or everyday happiness. Instead of lecturing about happiness, improving their living conditions will make them happy. I spent about 1 million KRW repairing a house and asked afterward, ‘What more do you need?’ They replied, ‘We need nothing more. We are so happy.’ This may change in the future, but that’s the current state. I don’t believe words are necessary. We need to repair one house and have the entire village come together to help. That way, not only will they be happy that their house is fixed, but they’ll also experience joy as their neighbor’s life improves. The purpose isn’t to fix houses but to make people realize, ‘Just a little cooperation can improve our lives,’ giving them a sense of achievement.
Awareness education is necessary for the youth living in cities. That’s why I plan to give lectures at universities for Bhutanese youth. They need to hear more about how building their country is more important than going to Australia to earn money. Bhutanese people don’t fully understand the value of the Himalayas and fresh air. Those born and raised there can’t understand its value because it’s always been there. So, I’m preparing a project to involve young people in village development.”
“I hope the International Network of Engaged Buddhists (INEB) pays close attention to what you’re doing in Bhutan because it’s one of the most representative cases of Buddhist social engagement.”
“I haven’t shared what I’m doing in Bhutan with INEB yet because it’s still in the experimental stage. I don’t ask for support just because I plan to do something. I only inform people once I’ve experimented and achieved results.
When I pioneer various projects, it seems like INEB is influenced by them and follows suit. I continue to share Jungto Society’s experiences with Southeast Asian Buddhists.”
Professor Kim expressed how deeply she was impressed by Sunim, who embodies Buddhist teachings through social practice, and wished more people could learn about his activities.
They discussed the sustainable development project in Bhutan for 90 minutes. Professor Kim agreed to provide feedback on the project’s progress whenever Sunim shared updates, and they concluded the meeting.
We headed back to the Washington Jungto Center. As we got into the car, Sunim said,
“Oh, I’m exhausted.”
A person who had accompanied Sunim all day spoke with a tired expression.
“After attending meetings from early morning to evening, I don’t have the energy to even say one word, but I’m amazed that you gave a passionate speech until the last meeting. You must really love doing this.” (laughter)
After a few words of conversation, Sunim soon fell fast asleep.
After arriving at the Washington Jungto Center at 8 PM, we had dinner. Kim Myeong-ho and Yoo Jeong-hee, who provided lodging, meals, and transportation in New York, brought a cake to celebrate Teacher’s Day in advance. We all sang the “Grace of the Teacher” song together and expressed our gratitude to Sunim.
“Thank you.”
We shared tomorrow’s schedule over dinner and wrapped up the day.
Tomorrow, we will visit Congressman Andy Kim’s office in the morning, then meet John Brunsch, the Director of the Washington Office of the World Food Programme (WFP), in the afternoon, and finally stop by a hospital to visit Dr. John Merrill, a former State Department official, who is currently in the hospital.
