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An Interview

On June 20, 2006, Asia Society spoke with Jay Lefkowitz, who serves as Special Envoy on Human Rights in North Korea for the U.S. government. He discussed concerns about human rights and nuclear development in North Korea. 		 

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Are human rights connected in any way to the concerns raised about North Korea's nuclear problem, or are the two completely distinct?

I think they are distinct and related. They are distinct in the sense that the United States has significant and grave concerns about North Korea's nuclear arsenals, and we have grave concerns about North Korea's human rights record. They are distinct in the sense that we would like to make progress on either one of these fronts if we could.

But they are also related. Ultimately a nation that starves and deprives its own people of basic freedoms is a lawless nation. A lawless nation at home is a greater threat to the international community. A nation that violates international standards and is building a nuclear arsenal and threatening its neighbors is also a lawless nation and a threat. So I think these issues are related but divisible.

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Get the Facts

ally – people or countries that join together for a common purpose

arsenal – a collection or supply of weapons

condemn – to declare to be wrong

counterfeit – an illegal copy

distinct – separate

engage – to become involved

international community – all the countries in the United Nations, or all the countries of the world

objective – a goal

resolution – a formal decision

unrestricted – without any limits


How would you compare the situation in North Korea now to the situation in Iraq in 2003 prior to the US invasion?

I think there are a lot of geopolitical differences in terms of the countries threatened by Iraq in the early 1990s. Obviously, if you recall the early 1990s, Iraq had actually invaded Kuwait. We are in a different situation with respect to North Korea. North Korea is obviously a menace, a lawless state, a state that is counterfeiting US dollars-the latter of which is something that hasn't occurred since Nazi Germany. But we are in a different region of the world, and there is a different group of nations that are most immediately affected. Our national interests with respect to the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula are obviously not identical. So I am not sure you can look at the two issues and find many parallels.

How best do you think the US should engage with North Korea?

I think the United States obviously needs to engage on this issue with the help of its friends, allies, and peace-loving nations around the world. There was a very strong resolution condemning North Korea at the United Nations last fall. Not all of the countries that should have joined in that resolution did, but I think we will get better turnout and participation this fall. I also think there are countries engaging in policies that may have the unfortunate effect of helping the North Korean government in ways that may not be productive; unrestricted economic assistance to North Korea may not be the best policy right now. I think we need to work with our friends and allies to adopt a set of policies that will put the maximum amount of pressure on North Korea to change its policies. Our objective here is not regime change, it's policy change.

Jay Lefkowitz serves as Special Envoy on Human Rights in North Korea, a position to which he was appointed by President George W. Bush on August 19, 2005, following the North Korea Human Rights Act of 2004.

Copyright 2006. Author: Jay Lefkowiz.

Interview conducted by Nermeen Shaikh of AsiaSource.org