2008 Woodie Awards
UN passes resolution to condemn North Korean nuke test
James Marconi
Issue date: 10/19/06 Section: Opinion
The second reason talks would fail rests primarily on the shoulders of the North Korean government itself. They don't want to negotiate, and they don't want to play fair - history has proven this fact beyond any shadow of a doubt. Take, for example, the agreement brokered back in 1994. As Jimmy Carter wrote in a column published Oct. 11, "I went to Pyongyang and negotiated an agreement under which North Korea would cease its nuclear program at Yongbyong…The United States assured the North Koreans that there would be no military threat to them, that it would supply fuel oil to replace the lost nuclear power …" (www. nytimes.com).
Carter goes on to describe further incentives granted to the North Koreans, and how suddenly in 2002 the United States branded North Korea a member of the 'Axis of Evil,' "threatened military action and ended shipments of fuel oil…and refused to consider further bilateral talks" (www.nytimes.com). In his stated opinion, these actions on the part of the U.S. only further alienated North Korea and led to the present hostilities.
What he fails to explain is that while America was busy appeasing Kim Jong-Il with economic incentives, North Korea was busy violating the terms of the treaty they had signed in 1994. We had knowledge of this, and so we took action. The United States has not alienated North Korea - it has already done that itself.
In fact, the DPRK announced this week that the sanctions imposed on it constituted an 'act of war' (www.cnn.com). Oh, and it also stated its intention to conduct another nuclear test, taking a stance of clear belligerence and defiance towards the rest of the world. Clearly, they have no intentions to denuclearize and disarm.
Nuclear North Korea is here to stay. Aside from direct military action (unlikely, in the words of Condoleezza Rice), the only other option is good old fashioned nuclear deterrence, Cold War style. The best part is, there is no chance of mutually assured destruction, as with the Soviet Union - North Korea simply doesn't have the capacity.
However, even the threat of America's arsenal looming over it may not prove significant. After all, Carter did get one thing right - North Korea is essentially backed into a corner both economically and militarily. The analogy I like to use is that of a Risk game: When one person is assured of defeat, he figures that he might as well take someone down with him, and launches an all-out suicidal assault.
North Korea has proven that it is capable of that kind of rash decision. Toothless resolutions and paper treaties have had no discernible effect. I'm not sure what the solution is, but talking and appeasing certainly has been an utter failure.
Carter goes on to describe further incentives granted to the North Koreans, and how suddenly in 2002 the United States branded North Korea a member of the 'Axis of Evil,' "threatened military action and ended shipments of fuel oil…and refused to consider further bilateral talks" (www.nytimes.com). In his stated opinion, these actions on the part of the U.S. only further alienated North Korea and led to the present hostilities.
What he fails to explain is that while America was busy appeasing Kim Jong-Il with economic incentives, North Korea was busy violating the terms of the treaty they had signed in 1994. We had knowledge of this, and so we took action. The United States has not alienated North Korea - it has already done that itself.
In fact, the DPRK announced this week that the sanctions imposed on it constituted an 'act of war' (www.cnn.com). Oh, and it also stated its intention to conduct another nuclear test, taking a stance of clear belligerence and defiance towards the rest of the world. Clearly, they have no intentions to denuclearize and disarm.
Nuclear North Korea is here to stay. Aside from direct military action (unlikely, in the words of Condoleezza Rice), the only other option is good old fashioned nuclear deterrence, Cold War style. The best part is, there is no chance of mutually assured destruction, as with the Soviet Union - North Korea simply doesn't have the capacity.
However, even the threat of America's arsenal looming over it may not prove significant. After all, Carter did get one thing right - North Korea is essentially backed into a corner both economically and militarily. The analogy I like to use is that of a Risk game: When one person is assured of defeat, he figures that he might as well take someone down with him, and launches an all-out suicidal assault.
North Korea has proven that it is capable of that kind of rash decision. Toothless resolutions and paper treaties have had no discernible effect. I'm not sure what the solution is, but talking and appeasing certainly has been an utter failure.
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