North Korea and The New Administration
Uploaded by ckc on Apr 20, 2001
Half a century ago, war erupted in Korea on June 25,1950, along the thirty-eight parallel that separated North and South Korea, The Korean War set all the rules for East/West superpower conflict in the nuclear age. And in so doing brought the world closer to an all out atomic race that is still proliferating today.
The international community today is witnessing an increasing spread in weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles. Especially, the nuclear threat of the ambiguous North Koreans, which have the capabilities of striking South Korea, Japan, and the Continental United States.
Last year the U.S. came close to reaching an agreement that would have ended its development and export of ballistic missiles and related technologies under the Clinton Administration. But time ran out before an agreement could be finalized. Talks have recently resumed from a visit by President Kim Dae Jung of South Korea with President Bush on March 6. The Bush Administration is undertaking what it calls a through review of American policy towards North Korea and its president Kim Jong II. It is clear that the Bush Administration is taking a far harder line than the Clinton Administration did in 1994 that tried unsuccessfully, to close a deal on missile control before they left office.
The Bush Administration has called for “verification” of compliance with the 1994 Geneva agreement, as well as new agreements for doing away with production, testing and sale of missiles and other weapons of mass destruction. At the same time
Washington is demanding reciprocity from the North for gestures of good will by South Korea and the United States. However, there is much skepticism on the different views that each side poses on the right strategy and policy aim at North Korea. Douglas Paal, who heads the Asian Pacific Policy Center said, “Bush is like a cop and Kim Jung is like a priest.” “The cop wants to get the North Koreans disarmed and off the streets, while the priest wants to give him the resource to become a very different person”
(NY Times ,March 6).
As President Kim Dae Jung sees no safe or sane alternative to the course on which the Koreans will embark. Surely, the art of diplomacy has been a rocky and uncertain journey. However, for Kim and his “Sunshine Policy”, it has only brought a relaxation of tensions along the demilitarized zone luckily so far.
The Bush Administration is committed to...