Statements from US Presidential Candidates and Members of Congress
NCNK Briefing Book: After Kim Jong-il
US Presidential Candidates
Kim Jong-il was a ruthless tyrant who lived a life of luxury while the North Korean people starved. He recklessly pursued nuclear weapons, sold nuclear and missile technology to other rogue regimes, and committed acts of military aggression against our ally South Korea. He will not be missed. His death represents an opportunity for America to work with our friends to turn North Korea off the treacherous course it is on and ensure security in the region. America must show leadership at this time. The North Korean people are suffering through a long and brutal national nightmare. I hope the death of Kim Jong-il hastens its end.
The death of vicious dictator Kim Jong Il provides some cause for hope but does not automatically end the reign of inhumane tyranny he and his father constructed. Twenty-three million people still live under North Korea’s isolationist, inhumane and tyrannical policies. North Korea remains a nuclear power, and there is a great threat that those weapons might fall into the wrong hands if civil war breaks out.
At the same time, Kim Jong Il’s death is an opportunity to reunify the peninsula if the situation is handled effectively. Kim Jong Un is an unknown quantity, and may not be able to maintain power. The United States must now strongly reaffirm our commitment to our Asian allies, particularly South Korea, and maintain a strong military, diplomatic, and economic presence in the Pacific region during this period. We should also engage with China, and encourage Beijing to work towards a peaceful transition from a grim dictatorship to a free Korea.
Kim Jong Il's passing closes a sad and tragic chapter for the people of North Korea. His 17-year reign will be remembered as a dark period in their history characterized by great suffering and steady and dangerous provocations to the outside world.
Though North Korea is an extremely opaque country, we can have some confidence that a transition plan established over a year ago is now being implemented. Public pronouncements from Pyongyang indicate 29-year-old Kim Jong Un has assumed leadership, and preparations are under way for a public funeral for Kim Jong Il, with Kim Jong Un presiding. Even the launch of a short-range missile off North Korea's east coast around the time of Kim's death can be seen as "North Korean normalcy."
While we have one less dictator in the world who is oppressing his own people there is no indication that there is a hope for freedom on the horizon for the people of North Korea because his successor could quite likely be even worse than Kim Jong Il. And that's why – worse – together with the Chinese the North Koreans are actively working to help the Iranians to to obtain missile technology to deliver a nuclear weapon. This cannot be.
I believe that you have to recognize that when we have dictatorships that have nuclear weapons and are developing ballistic missiles, that the world is dangerous. I am not prepared to see Israel annihilated by the Iranians. I'm not prepared to see either the Iranians or the North Koreans sell nuclear weapons to terrorists. And I'm not prepared to risk any American city in the face of that kind of terrorism," Gingrich said at an event in Davenport, Iowa Monday. "I take very seriously the kind of dictatorship we're seeing in North Korea. The truth is, we have no idea what the successor will be like, whether the regime will become more open or become even more dangerous. Both in Iran and North Korea we have real challenges
I don’t think the new guy [Kim Jong Un] is going to be any more with it. He didn’t seem like he had a whole lot of talent to me. So this looks like it might be a wonderful opportunity; the world is changing. They have a new leader there, and you know the South Koreans have about what, 10, 20 times the GDP of North Korea. What are we doing over there [in South Korea]? Why don’t we have those military persons back here spending their money here in this country? Nah, I’d bring them home from South Korea. I’d bring them home from Japan, I’d bring them home from Germany and the Middle East, and we’d be stronger for it.
Members of Congress
Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA)
Kim Jong-il was a brutal and cruel tyrant.
The transition is less stable than may appear. The North Korean people are starting to question this corrupt dynasty.
Now is not the time for talk of new beginnings and food aid. We should be doing what we can to delegitimize this succession with the suffering North Korean people.
Rep. Don Manzullo (R-IL)
Kim Jong Il was the epitome of evil, a dictator of the worst kind who ruled his country with an iron fist and dished out constant pain and misery to his people. As Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific, I have watched Kim Jong Il closely and our committee has monitored his actions, including his unprovoked provocation toward South Korea and his relentless quest for nuclear weapons.
“We hope his passing will mark a new chapter for North Korea. This is an opportunity for North Korea to emerge from its cycle of oppression and walk down a new path toward democracy. We will be watching closely.
The world is a better place now that Kim Jong-il is no longer in it. For more than six decades, people in North Korea have been consigned to lives of dire poverty and cruel oppression under one of the most totalitarian regimes the world has ever known. I can only express satisfaction that the Dear Leader is joining the likes of Qaddafi, Bin Laden, Hitler, and Stalin in a warm corner of hell.
“The death of Kim Jong-il is a historic opportunity to end the long suffering of Koreans in the north and to deepen the security of Northeast Asia and the world. While prudence and caution are certainly advisable at this volatile moment, what is needed most is determined and creative leadership to bring about, at long last, a peaceful end of the North Korean regime, reunification of the Korean Peninsula, and freedom for all Korean people. Achieving these important goals requires active leadership from the United States and the Republic of Korea, as well as our other friends and allies.
“Now is an opportunity for China to play a lead role as a responsible world power. China should work in concert with the United States and our allies to shape a peaceful transition to a unified, democratic, and independent Korean Peninsula, which will be far more stable and beneficial for China and the world than a totalitarian North Korea ever was or will be.
Sen. Richard Lugar (R-IN) talks to MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell about the need to resume negotiations on nutritional assistance and North Korea's nuclear program.
