Time for South
Korea, U.S., Japan to Revise North Korea Policies
So what
can South Korea, the U.S. and Japan do to keep North Korea from continuing to
lob threats, artillery shells and perhaps even nukes in their general direction?
According to this editorial from China's state-controlled Global Times, the
countries need to undertake a 'fundamental policy change' to end the vicious
cycle that has plunged North Korea into ever-deepening poverty and isolation -
and the South into a constant state of insecurity.
After the recent artillery
exchange in and around the Korean Peninsula, North Korea seems to be the only
country to have gained. But Pyongyang is drinking poison to curb its thirst and
is running head-long down a road that leads nowhere.
Stability is the shared goal
of all the countries involved. North Korea wishes to maintain a stable
government, while the South wants a stable border area. It's in the interests
of China to keep the situation on the Peninsula uneventful. The United States
hopes to see its influence in Northeast Asia unchallenged; Russia and Japan
hold attitudes similar to China or the U.S.
But this shared goal is often
undermined by other interests, primarily the North's pursuit of nuclear weapons
and its continuing provocations. In addition, inconsistent policies toward
Pyongyang on the part of the U.S. and South Korea contribute to agitation in
the North, which in turn tends to overreact.
Posted
by WORLDMEETS.US
Strategic trust among the
players involved is almost zero. China's efforts to promote regional stability
are often undercut by America's strategic intentions in the western Pacific. In
addition, even Chinese initiatives are often given the cold shoulder by Pyongyang.
The on-again, off-again Six-Party
Talks best reflect the difficulty.
America's hard-line
approach is unlikely to succeed on the Korean Peninsula. If it did succeed, it
would mean the failure of Chinese diplomacy and bring unbearable strategic risk
to China. But it appears equally unlikely
that China's moderate stance will win out. All of which suggests a fundamental
policy change from the U.S., South Korea and Japan is badly needed. Otherwise, the
stalemate and test the tolerance of all the parties involved will go on.
The way things stand now, South
Korea will continue living in the shadow non-stop provocations from the North,
and Pyongyang will go on suffering isolation and poverty, which gets worse
after every incident.
Among all of the countries
with a stake in the region, it looks like South Korea is the one that can and
should take the initiative. The question is: Is it willing to do so?
