Page 161 - Trilateral Korea Japan U.S. Cooperation

North Korea. North Koreans operate trucks, taxis, and cars
as private entrepreneurs, but they do not hold property titles.
To run those businesses, they need to register their vehicles
under government agencies, under the protection of powerful
agencies and officials. This is a recipe for great corruption.
North Koreans need to understand that their economy,
including the “people’s economy,” is rotten to the core and
unsustainable.

Many North Koreans know today much more about the
outside world, including South Korea, than they did 10, 15,
or 20 years ago. K-pop, K-drama, and anything “K-” are very
powerful; South Korea is a viable alternative to the Kim family
regime’s North Korea. They need to come to an understanding
that the formula for Korean success is not the preservation
of the totalitarian dictatorship of the North Korea, but
unification under the very successful Republic of Korea.

Human rights up front

The authors of the National Strategy for Countering North
Korea put forth a “human rights up front” approach, implying
the elevation of human rights to be on par with other critical
issues, including North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic
20
missiles. The document argues that, for over three decades,
downgrading the importance of human rights in negotiations

20 See, generally, Joseph, Robert, Robert Collins, Joseph DeTrani, Nicholas Eberstadt, Olivia Enos, David
Maxwell, and Greg Scarlatoiu. National Strategy for Countering North Korea. (National Institute for Public
Policy, No. 545, January 23, 2023).

160 Section II : Human Rights, Abductees, Forced Repatriation of Refugees and the Regional Implications