- 'Change of regime only alternative to war in Korea' James
Woolsey, a former director of the Central Intelligence Agency in the United
States, urged China to step up to its responsibility and exert its substantial
influence on North Korea to induce a change in its regime, saying this
was the only credible alternative to war on the peninsula.
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- "The only option to keep (North Korean leader) Kim
Jong-il from producing more nuclear warheads is for China to exert is pressure
in North Korea to change its regime," he said during a press conference
yesterday after attending a session at the ongoing Pacific Basic Economic
Council. "There are no other possibilities other than that, short
of military action."
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- Woolsey eschewed any possibility of an agreement with
North Korea to stop it from developing nuclear weapons, attacking Kim Jong-il
as somebody "no reasonable individual could trust."
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- "Agreements with North Korea are worse than worthless,"
he emphasized. "North Korea has not kept its word before, and it will
not."
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- The consequences of not inducing a change of regime were
dire, Woolsey warned, noting that Kim Jong-il would likely turn to exporting
plutonium and enriched uranium, materials needed to make nuclear devices.
-
- "(North Korea's) principal exports are illegal weapons
and heroin," he noted. "What would refrain them from exporting
plutonium or highly enriched uranium? I do not see any possibility to avoid
North Korea getting into this business, and I see no reason why anybody
would believe the Kim Jong-il regime if he promises not to export these
things."
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- Woolsey, now a vice president at Booz Allen Hamilton,
noted that it was also in China's best interest to induce a change in regime
in North Korea. Not doing anything, could lead South Korea, Japan, and
even Taiwan to develop nuclear weapons, he said.
-
- "China could end up with not one, but with four
nuclear powers around it if it shirks its interest in this matter,"
he noted.
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- Although Woolsey did not mention what the alternatives
there would be to the Kim Jong-il regime, he did note that a collapse of
the regime did not need to be catastrophic for South Korea's economy.
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- The former intelligence officer noted that there could
be cooperation from the countries in the Northeast Asia region to ensure
that the collapse of the Pyongyang government would not create havoc, and
said the United States would likely offer financial assistance to soothe
the impact of a collapse.
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- (rafaelnam@heraldm.com)
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