평화협정과 한미연합훈련... 북미의 벼랑 끝 전술 - 우정엽 박사 대담

Joining me now is Dr. Woo Jung-yeop,... from the Sejong Institute. Welcome back to the show.

My pleasure.

1 - U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis gave a perhaps quite cryptic response to the question about whether the U.S. plans to restart the joint-military exercises with South Korea that were suspended after the North Korea-U.S. summit in June. He said there are no plans to suspend future ones, but at the same time, he didn't deny they could be restarted. What was Mattis' intention with these statements?

2 - In the past, the military drills have been a very contentious point for North Korea. While the U.S. and South Korea said they were defensive in nature, Pyongyang called them rehearsals for invasion. President Trump agreeing to suspend them was a big concession to North Korea, and a very important trust-building measure. How do you think North Korea will respond to Mattis' comments?

3 - Mattis left the door open for the drills to be suspended, saying that he will work with the state on further decisions. When the drills were first suspended, President Trump cited cost-cutting as one of the key reasons for suspending them as well. Do you think Trump will want the exercises to remain suspended? How seriously should we take Mattis' comments?

4 - Of course this comes after Pompeo's visit to Pyongyang was cancelled last week, with Trump citing 'insufficient progress' on denuclearization in reaction to a secret letter sent by Pyongyang. There was a statement from Pompeo on Tuesday via the state department spokesperson that said the U.S. remains ready to engage with North Korea if it commits to denuclearization. This is Washington's attempt to put the ball back in North Korea's court. What is Pyongyang's next step?

5 - A CNN report revealed what was in that letter, with senior North Korean official Kim Yong-chol warning that talks may fall apart unless the U.S. takes the right steps. North Korea has called for the U.S. to come forward and make moves towards formally ending the Korean War. Do you think this is a realistic demand from North Korea? Is it achievable?

5a - Is North Korea in a position to make demands? How desperate is its situation, especially concerning sanctions?

6 - Trump claimed North Korea's actions were forced by China, saying it was in retaliation for the trade dispute the two are having. Do you think China really might have had a hand because of those reasons?

7 - North Korea and the U.S. seem to be at a standstill in negotiations. Do you consider this an important turning point?

8 - North Korea has not responded to the cancellation of Pompeo's visit yet. But it has been attacking South Korea in its state media. It's called on South Korea to faithfully carry out the Panmunjom declaration saying its the only route to peaceful unification. Is North Korea pressuring South Korea, because that is the only player in the region it can pressure righ