ID :
191434
Tue, 06/28/2011 - 05:20
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/191434
The shortlink copeid
Defector-turned-official sees little hope for N. Korea after succession
Cho Myung-chul, a North Korean defector recently named head of a government body handling unification education, sees little hope for his birthplace following the pending hereditary succession.
In an interview with Yonhap News Agency, Cho, who will lead the Education Center for Unification for two years, said the success of the regime under Kim Jong-un, heir apparent and third son of the current leader Kim Jong-il, will hinge upon his ability to "bring innovation."
"The hereditary succession to Kim Jong-un is bound to happen; you just replace Kim Jong-il with Kim Jong-un, with the same ideology, national policy and personnel," Cho said. "The question is whether Kim Jong-un can provide more material benefits to the people (than his father), and whether he can give them hope. I see little hope in that regard."
Cho is the first North Korean defector to become a senior government official in South Korea. The center is affiliated with the Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs. Cho taught economics at Kim Il-sung University, the North's elite institution named after the country's founder.
He cited economic woes that have plagued North Korea since the succession to Jong-un was made all but official last fall, when he was named a four-star general and a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party.
"Many of the state economic policies haven't met their goals, but Kim Jong-un will inherit these same policies from Kim Jong-il," Cho said. "It's little wonder then there's no future. People have lost a lot of faith in their regime, and it's hard to predict what will happen in the future."
Cho said North Korea will likely try to develop economic projects to deal with their issues, and to expand economic exchanges with China, its last-remaining ally and major benefactor.
But Cho was pessimistic about the impact of such moves.
"(Exchanges with China) won't help North Korea develop with the same speed as South Korea in the 1970s and 1980s," he said. "As the economic ties with China strengthen, North Korea will surely open up, but because of security reasons, it won't be a normal process."
Cho, who defected to the South in 1994, said he still dreams of the day when North Korea becomes "a normal country."
"I have a dream, and it's not anything big," he said. "I want North Korea to be more like South Korea, a place where people don't starve to death or where they aren't dragged into a gulag for saying things."
The Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. Cho acknowledged differences in "ideology, system and culture" between the two, and said his job will be to portray North Korea the way it is, while basing his education on maintaining "the framework of liberal democracy."
"I think it's important to show both the dark and the bright side of things, and to teach about North Korea without distorting facts," Cho said. "I will try many different means to do so."
Cho said as a defector, he will be better able to discuss North Korea in more concrete, specific terms than others who've never lived there and who've only read about the reclusive regime.
"I also believe other government officials will treat me warmly knowing I am a defector," he added. "Perhaps that could help me draw help and cooperation as far as budgets or administrative tasks are concerned."
Cho said his goal is to bring about "consistency" to education on unification.
"I want to build a system where unification education isn't affected by the administration or its inclination," he said. "To do so, I just have to deliver the truth and give a realistic picture on the future of unification. That way, no one will have reason to debate right or wrong."
In an interview with Yonhap News Agency, Cho, who will lead the Education Center for Unification for two years, said the success of the regime under Kim Jong-un, heir apparent and third son of the current leader Kim Jong-il, will hinge upon his ability to "bring innovation."
"The hereditary succession to Kim Jong-un is bound to happen; you just replace Kim Jong-il with Kim Jong-un, with the same ideology, national policy and personnel," Cho said. "The question is whether Kim Jong-un can provide more material benefits to the people (than his father), and whether he can give them hope. I see little hope in that regard."
Cho is the first North Korean defector to become a senior government official in South Korea. The center is affiliated with the Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs. Cho taught economics at Kim Il-sung University, the North's elite institution named after the country's founder.
He cited economic woes that have plagued North Korea since the succession to Jong-un was made all but official last fall, when he was named a four-star general and a vice chairman of the Central Military Commission of the ruling Workers' Party.
"Many of the state economic policies haven't met their goals, but Kim Jong-un will inherit these same policies from Kim Jong-il," Cho said. "It's little wonder then there's no future. People have lost a lot of faith in their regime, and it's hard to predict what will happen in the future."
Cho said North Korea will likely try to develop economic projects to deal with their issues, and to expand economic exchanges with China, its last-remaining ally and major benefactor.
But Cho was pessimistic about the impact of such moves.
"(Exchanges with China) won't help North Korea develop with the same speed as South Korea in the 1970s and 1980s," he said. "As the economic ties with China strengthen, North Korea will surely open up, but because of security reasons, it won't be a normal process."
Cho, who defected to the South in 1994, said he still dreams of the day when North Korea becomes "a normal country."
"I have a dream, and it's not anything big," he said. "I want North Korea to be more like South Korea, a place where people don't starve to death or where they aren't dragged into a gulag for saying things."
The Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. Cho acknowledged differences in "ideology, system and culture" between the two, and said his job will be to portray North Korea the way it is, while basing his education on maintaining "the framework of liberal democracy."
"I think it's important to show both the dark and the bright side of things, and to teach about North Korea without distorting facts," Cho said. "I will try many different means to do so."
Cho said as a defector, he will be better able to discuss North Korea in more concrete, specific terms than others who've never lived there and who've only read about the reclusive regime.
"I also believe other government officials will treat me warmly knowing I am a defector," he added. "Perhaps that could help me draw help and cooperation as far as budgets or administrative tasks are concerned."
Cho said his goal is to bring about "consistency" to education on unification.
"I want to build a system where unification education isn't affected by the administration or its inclination," he said. "To do so, I just have to deliver the truth and give a realistic picture on the future of unification. That way, no one will have reason to debate right or wrong."
