{"id":4111,"date":"2019-03-04T10:21:04","date_gmt":"2019-03-04T01:21:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.01.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/?p=4111"},"modified":"2021-07-05T16:34:36","modified_gmt":"2021-07-05T07:34:36","slug":"sanctions-continue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.02.asiapress.org\/rimjin-gang\/2019\/03\/recommendations\/sanctions-continue\/","title":{"rendered":"\uff1cN. Korea Interview\uff1e \"So the sanctions will continue?\" North Koreans Face Disappointment as US Summit Breaks Down"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Kim Jong-un, visiting China on January 10, 2019 for talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, as captured by Chinese Central Television.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u25c6\u201cBut we had been expecting the sanctions to be lifted\u2026\u201d<\/h2>\n

On February 28, summit talks between Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump broke down. At 4 p.m., President Trump broke the news to the press, lamenting that an agreement on easing economic sanctions for North Korean denuclearization could not be reached. At 6 p.m., a call came into the ASIAPRESS offices. On the other end of the line- a reporting partner calling from North Korea.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did the summit go?\u201d he asked excitedly. I could tell he must have been worried.<\/p>\n

--\u201cThe luncheon was cancelled, no joint statement was made, and the talks ended without any result,\u201d I replied.<\/p>\n

A pause. \u201cSo you\u2019re saying the sanctions will continue?\u201d<\/p>\n

--\u201cI think so. There won\u2019t be any easing of sanctions for the time being.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNews surrounding the summit was being broadcast nonstop so we had been looking forward to a favorable announcement from the moment Kim Jong-un left Pyongyang. In the trade office of my city, trade executives from all over the north were gathering to follow the broadcasts. The mood was really good and everyone expected that the sanctions would be lifted this time around. Anyway, how much longer do you reckon the sanctions will go on for?\u201d<\/p>\n

This reporting partner lives in a border town that is a hotspot for trade with China. As soon as it was decided that there would be a summit with the United States in Hanoi, trade executives from across the country began to gather in the town in order to register their businesses with the local government\u2019s trade office.<\/p>\n

--\u201cI don\u2019t know how long the sanctions will last. The U.S. demanded denuclearization of North Korea\u2019s nuclear facilities outside Yongbyon, it seems Kim Jong-un did not accept.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the sanctions aren\u2019t eased, we\u2019re in big trouble. Automobiles and car parts that the government smuggles into the country are getting more and more expensive. The cost of using vehicles is getting out of control.\u201d<\/p>\n

--\u201cThe reality is that it is ordinary people who will suffer most from economic sanctions if North Korea doesn\u2019t denuclearize, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSince when has the regime worried about us ordinary people? If sanctions are lifted, no one here expects food distributions like back in the old days. Everybody is too scared to speak out though. Personally, I don\u2019t think that the regime will give up its nuclear weapons.\u201d<\/p>\n

--\u201cWhy don\u2019t you think that the regime will give up its nuclear weapons?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAt rallies and meetings, we are told that, as a nuclear power, the imperialists can\u2019t lay a finger on us. We are constantly told that, if we didn\u2019t have nuclear weapons, our people would be enslaved. But nobody really believes that type of thing. Those in power are afraid of jeopardizing their own status, so I don\u2019t think that the regime will ever give up its nuclear weapons.\u201d (Kang Ji-won)<\/p>\n

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