In his first interview since defecting to the South more than a year ago, Ryu Hyeon-woo told CNN that “North Korea’s nuclear power is directly linked to the stability of the regime” – and Kim probably believes that nuclear weapons are the key to your survival.
Ryu also said that previous US administrations had cornered themselves by demanding denuclearization in negotiations with the totalitarian state.
“The US cannot withdraw from denuclearization and Kim Jong Un cannot denuclearize,” he added.
Ryu and his family defected to South Korea in September 2019, but their actions were only released last week. Determined to give his teenage daughter a better life, Ryu said that he and his wife planned their escape for about a month while living in Kuwait.
Ryu said that if they had been caught, North Korean agents would have quickly taken them back to Pyongyang for certain punishment, as defection is considered a major constraint for the Kim regime and is not taken lightly.
They finally told their daughter about the plan while pretending to take her to school.
“Come with mom and dad to find freedom,” Ryu remembers telling his daughter. “She was shocked and said, ‘Okay.’ That was all she said. “
Ryu took his family to the South Korean embassy in Kuwait to apply for asylum. They traveled to South Korea several days later.
North Korea’s defection has a monumental cost, with deserters having to instantly break the ties of all the families left over in their home country.
The regime often punishes nuclear and extended families of deserters to prevent people from leaving, said Ryu – especially diplomats. People posted abroad are often forced to leave a child at home as a hostage, ensuring that their parents do not desert.
“I think North Korea having such a feudal collective family punishment in the 21st century is terrible,” said Ryu.
He is now concerned about his three brothers and his 83-year-old mother who still live in North Korea. “I just want to see them live a lot,” said Ryu. “Any thought of them being punished for what I did just hurt my heart.”
He also cares about his wife’s elderly parents who live in Pyongyang.
North Korea has long been accused of using its embassies as lucrative cows for the ruling Kim family. Ryu said that although he was a diplomat trained in politics, there were also “economic trade workers” assigned to diplomatic positions. They received a quota on the amount of money they must make for the state, added Ryu.
Ryu said that only China and Russia generate more money for the North Korean workers’ regime than the nations of the Gulf of Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates – at least until 2017, when the United Nations punished Pyongyang for its repeated tests nuclear and missile systems with the nations ban on employing their workers.
“Due to the UN resolution, the majority of workers in the Gulf region have left,” he said.
Ryu was also sent to Syria, a close ally of North Korea, from 2010 to 2013. While Ryu was tasked with overseeing relations with Syrian politicians, his compatriots were selling conventional weapons to the Bashar al-Assad regime, including long range multiple launcher artillery and anti-aircraft weapon systems. However, Ryu said the country’s bloody civil war forced Pyongyang to withdraw its personnel from the country. He said he had not heard of any new arms negotiations with the Syrians since he left the country.
Ryu’s experience in the Middle East gave him a close look at how the United States handled Iran’s nuclear program during the administration of former President Barack Obama. He believes the experience will be useful for US President Joe Biden.
“Based on his experience in solving the Iranian nuclear issue, I have no doubt that he will be able to deal with North Korea’s nuclear issue wisely,” said Ryu.
Ryu said he believed North Korea might be willing to negotiate a reduction in its nuclear weapons, but he is unlikely to give up on them altogether. However, he said the sanctions may have contributed to pushing North Korea to the negotiating table in 2018, when Kim and former U.S. President Donald Trump met for their historic summit in Singapore.
Many analysts believe that Kim came to the negotiating table because he had already developed nuclear weapons and successfully tested a long-range missile that could reach the United States.
“The current sanctions against North Korea are strong and unprecedented,” said Ryu. “I think sanctions against North Korea should continue.”
Ryu also said that it is important not to abandon the human rights issue, which was largely swept under the carpet during nuclear negotiations with the Trump administration.
Pyongyang claims to be a socialist paradise and denies accusations of serious human rights violations. North Korea, however, does not allow freedom of speech or assembly and citizens cannot leave. The Kim regime is accused of running a system of gulags and political prison camps that house more than 120,000 men, women and children.
“Human rights are a matter of morality and, under the North Korean regime, the issue of human rights is sensitive and serious,” said Ryu.
Looking back over the past 16 months, Ryu says his only regret is what can happen to the remaining members of his family in Pyongyang. He and his wife believe they did the right thing for their daughter, taking her from her home country.
Ryu told CNN that he asked his daughter what she likes most about her new home. “I like the fact that I can use the Internet as much as I want,” she replied.