Testimonies
On September 14th, the classified report of the North Korea Policy Review was submitted to Congress, and an unclassified version will be released shortly. The eight-month Review was headed up by former Secretary of Defense William J. Perry, who was asked by the Administration last fall to lead a no-holds barred review of U.S. policy towards the isolated Democratic People''s Republic of Korea (DPRK). The Belfer Center''s Ashton B. Carter, who co-directs the Harvard-Stanford Preventive Defense Project with Perry, served as Senior Advisor to the Review.
In May 1999, a delegation from the Policy Review visited the North Korean capital Pyongyang, holding four days of intensive talks with the DPRK''s leadership and presenting them with a letter from President Clinton as well as messages from the Japanese prime minister and South Korean president. The Review delegation conveyed to North Korea the views and concerns of the U.S. and its allies, and outlined a comprehensive strategy whereby North Korea could improve its relations with the United States provided it give up its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
The delegation was led by Perry and included Carter, Ford Foundation Professor of Science and International Affairs and a former director of BSCIA; Ambassador Wendy Sherman, Counselor of the Department of State; Major General Chip Gregson, in charge of Asian Affairs for the Joint Chiefs of Staff; Ken Lieberthal, Assistant to President Clinton for Asian Affairs on the National Security Council; and Philip Yun and Evans Revere of the State Department.
Though most of the trip was consumed by talks with North Korean diplomatic and military leaders, Perry and his delegation received a warm welcome including several banquets, where bands played rousing renditions of Korean revolutionary songs and American tunes. They also toured a collective farm where they watched farmers transplant rice seedlings; were given a tour of the birthplace of Kim Il-Sung; attended a circus performance featuring North Korean acrobats; and visited a children''s hospital in an area which has been suffering from famine.
The trip by the Policy Review team represents the highest level diplomatic encounter with Pyongyang since the Korean War ended in 1953 and could lead to a major change in U.S. relations with North Korea.
There have been recent signs that the North Koreans want to improve relations and there is some suggestion that they are considering the proposals laid out by Perry and Carter during their trip. The North''s apparent preparations for a second medium-range missile test have been suspended, and the leadership has made recent diplomatic overtures to the U.S. which signal that a deal may be soon struck.