Bart Marcois, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy, is interviewed by News & Post (NNP) at the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation (VOC) in Washington D.C. on September 25 of last year (local time). At the time, he also revealed that he had publicly warned Lee Jae-myung, ahead of the bilateral talks between South Korea and the U.S., "If you play games with President Trump, you will regret it." In a recent interview, he advised, "Now is the time to decide which side you are on." [Photo=NNP-Hankook Ilbo joint coverage]

A former high-ranking U.S. official, who warned earlier this year that Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro's arrest was part of an operation to dismantle China's allies, has now publicly warned Lee Jae-myung to choose between North Korea, China, and the United States.

Bart Marcois, former Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Affairs at the U.S. Department of Energy, stated in a personal YouTube video on the 2nd (local time), "The (U.S.) government is giving Lee Jae-myung time to decide who he truly stands with, but Congress is losing patience." He directly criticized, "Lee Jae-myung seems more interested in aligning with communist China and North Korea than with the United States."

He added, "Now is the time for Lee Jae-myung to decide which side he is on," suggesting, "If he is on the side of freedom, liberation, and democracy, he must prove it by releasing President Yoon Suk-yeol and stopping the political persecution of his political opponents and Christian churches throughout South Korea."

Former Deputy Assistant Secretary Marcois.In this video, former Deputy Assistant Secretary Marcois also expressed his discomfort by listing a series of recent suppressions occurring in South Korea.

He pointed out, "This week, President Yoon Suk-yeol of South Korea was sentenced to seven years in prison." He elaborated, "This was a new sentence added on top of previous sentences of five years, thirty years, and life imprisonment, as well as a four-year sentence for President Yoon's wife."

He further stated, "Each of these charges was brought about by the newly elected hard-left Lee Jae-myung," attributing the blame to Lee Jae-myung's administration. He declared, "Since his election in June last year, Lee Jae-myung has been swiftly pursuing and persecuting all his political opponents, potential political dissenters, and those who appear to be from the conservative opposition party."

He added, "He is also pursuing and suppressing churches, and persecuting and arresting pastors," mentioning, "Even those who simply met with Ambassador-at-Large Sam Brownback, who arrived at the airport to investigate religious freedom in South Korea, were arrested and detained."

Indicating that the time for a decision is imminent, former Deputy Assistant Secretary Marcois emphatically stated, "Lee Jae-myung cannot avoid this forever."

Earlier, at the beginning of the year, on the day Maduro was captured, he gained attention for analyzing that "the arrest of Maduro in the United States is part of the process of dismantling China's allies, such as South Korea."

In a post on social media X (formerly Twitter) on January 3rd, former Deputy Assistant Secretary Marcois wrote, "President Trump is systematically eliminating all forces that have the power to harm the United States. Pay close attention to what is happening now."

He then directly targeted the Lee Jae-myung administration, stating, "All leaders allied with China (including the new South Korean government and many politicians in the EU, Africa, and Latin America) had better take notice."

He particularly garnered attention by predicting "changes in Venezuela" along with the "possibility of Iran's fall" as factors that would weaken China's influence. On January 3rd, the day Maduro was arrested, the U.S. plan for a preemptive strike on Iran had not yet been publicly revealed. The U.S. preemptively struck Iran on February 28th.

Specifically, he predicted, "Changes in Venezuela (and the possibility of Iran's fall) will severely limit China's influence," and astutely diagnosed, "All leaders who have colluded with China are now realizing that China cannot help them."

He concluded by stating, "They all feel like they are standing in a formal event without pants on," pointing out the rapidly weakening position of pro-China factions worldwide.

In August of last year, former Deputy Assistant Secretary Marcois, along with Carla Sands, former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark, also co-authored an article for The Daily Caller stating, "President Trump is offering Lee Jae-myung a golden door, and Lee Jae-myung must make a choice."

In the article, he criticized, "Lee Jae-myung is acting like an old-fashioned communist government, intoxicated by his almost absolute control," citing his rough treatment of President Yoon and the arrest of First Lady Kim Keon-hee on corruption charges. He condemned Lee Jae-myung, who tries to handle both China and the U.S. simultaneously, as "playing the most dangerous game with the South Korean people."

Marcois, a former diplomat, serves as the president of MPIC, a company that advises on public-private projects seeking to attract manufacturing to the U.S. He also contributes columns to American media outlets such as The Hill, a leading congressional newspaper, and the conservative publication Epoch Times.