North Korea’s crown prince Kim the Third’s latest nuclear test has the world buzzing. The buzzing mostly deals with whether the bomb was a hydrogen bomb, or a hybrid atomic bomb, which is neither here nor there. Whether 1,000 kilotons or 1 kiloton, these bombs can destroy lives just the same, and I am more interested in getting rid of the bomb, big or small. 

Many writers and experts have written on the topic, and of all the articles I’ve read, one stood out. This one, posted by The Nation magazine, suggested that Kim had been sending an olive branch to Obama since October last year and inferred that Obama has failed to stop Kim’s nuclear tests. I quote, “…. this would be Pyongyang’s fourth nuclear-weapons test since 2006 ― and the third under President Obama’s watch. If anything, this proves the utter failure of the Obama administration’s policy of ‘strategic patience’ when it comes to achieving North Korean denuclearization.”

Before we start harping on Obama for his failure to recognize and accept Kim the Third’s olive branch, I would suggest to the writer that if we are going to get anywhere with the on-again-off-again peace talks with Pyongyang, we should listen to what Pyongyang is saying.

One thing about Pyongyang is that its messages are remarkably consistent from day one — that is, from the time of Kim Il-sung, Kim the First, founder of the DPRK. He was very clear on what he wanted to do — to liberate his southern brethren — and followed up with an invasion into South Korea at 4:00 a.m. on June 25, 1950 (KST), overrunning Seoul in three days. As a 4-year-old boy, I watched Kim Il-sung’s tanks rumble through the streets of Seoul and I felt the ground shake. I had no idea what the tanks were doing there. All I knew was that my mother wanted me to come inside and hide, which I did. 

Kim Il-sung’s vision to “unify Korea” by force did not waiver after the war. He was quite explicit in expressing his intent in words and action. He has left a considerable volume of record in this regard. 

On the other hand, his son Kim Jong-il, Kim the Second, played his cards very close to his chest and thrived on secrecy. He was not known to make public speeches, but according to Hwang Jang-yop, former international secretariat of the North Korea Workers Party, Kim Jong-il “would have started a war if he thought he could win.” A former adviser to Kim the First and Second, Hwang knew what motivated the Kims and how shrewd they were in pursuing their vision. 

Now, come to Kim the Third, he is more vocal than his father, perhaps to his detriment. We can tell what he is thinking by his speech following the August accord reached among the high-ranking officials of the Koreas aftermath of the land mine explosion incident inside the DMZ. Kim the Third made a statement on Aug. 28, in which he credited his nuclear weapons program for making the “landmark agreement possible” and averting a certain crisis in the Korean Peninsula. He was referring to his nuke as a device of persuasive coercion, not the “defensive” device that The Nation article suggests. 

As I have said earlier, the Kims are very clear in what they are saying and we have to listen to them before we begin to understand them. My question to the writer from The Nation is: Why are you not paying attention to what Pyongyang is saying?

With the passing of Kim the Second, there were speculations among the North Korea watchers that his young son Kim the Third would be more amenable to the ways of the free world because of the education he received in Switzerland. That was no more than wishful thinking, as it turned out. Kim Jong-un is no better, judging by all the shenanigans he pulled during his tenure ― nuke tests, missile launches and threats to bomb the U.S.

“Kim Jong-un is following the script that was written for him way back when,” says K.J. Sohn. “North Korea’s SuRyong system is such that he has to follow his grandfather’s vision and his father’s.” K.J. Sohn was Hwang Jang-yop’s academic secretary for 13 years, and he believes that Hwang had the best insight into what made the Kims tick. 

The olive branch that The Nation writer refers to is a mirage by design. It is designed to pressure the U.S. to the negotiation table for a meaningless discussion about a peace treaty, through which Kim the Third gains an opportunity to say, “Our nuclear program brought the U.S. to its knees.”

Fortunately, Obama is not buying the olive branch sprinkled with nuclear dust. He is known to appreciate history and appears determined not to repeat the same mistake made by his predecessors. Lincoln’s quote, “Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, shame on you,” makes good sense in this case.

As for me, I would like to see Kim the Third do well by his people. All the people, not just those in Pyongyang. Stop the killing. Free the political prisoners. Tear down the walls. Stop torturing. They are my people, too. When my brothers and sisters groan in pain no more, then I will believe that he deserves his crown.

By John H. Cha

John H. Cha lives and writes in Oakland, California. He has written several volumes of biographies about Korean and American leaders, including “Willow Tree Shade: The Susan Ahn Cuddy Story,” “The Do Or Die Entrepreneur,” “Exit Emperor Kim Jong-il” and “A Small Key Opens Big Doors.” — Ed.