By Choi Sung-jin



The United States, which is stepping up sanctions against North Korea, may switch to dialogue with the North before long, and South Korea should be ready for it, an expert said Tuesday.



"Inferring from a recent series of circumferential changes, we cannot rule out the possibility that Washington positively responds to Pyongyang's calls for talk and speeds up discussion for concluding a peace treaty," said Professor Chung Han-beom of the Korea National Defense University at a seminar on national security. "Seoul should be able to preemptively respond to the possibility of such a policy shift."



Professor Chung quoted the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs as saying in May: "The U.S. is focusing on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, and the only way to attain it is negotiation."



Chung noted that although Washington is focusing on tightening sanctions against North Korea, such a hard-line policy cannot last forever, as seen in the cases of Iran and Cuba. "Rather, such a strong-arm tactic often opens the way for dialogue," he said.



The expert recalled that the U.S. shifted from "strategic patience" to aggressive sanctions in the wake of the North's nuclear test earlier this year. "Although the U.S. government will step up sanctions in the short run, Washington is more likely to shift to tactics to denuclearize the peninsula by discussing the peace treaty instead of adopting the highly risky course of regime change in the reclusive state," he said.



The South Korean government, too, will need to prepare its position for such a development, Chung said. "There are heaps of tasks facing Seoul, including who will be the signatories of the peace treaty," he said.



