Why We Can’t Wait: North Korea and the Bush Administration
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August 29, 2003
A chance for peace on the Korean peninsula is at hand, if the Bush administration can be swayed from its dangerous policy of malign neglect toward the North. North Korean leadership made a substantial concession by agreeing to talks in Beijing. It is time for the United States to join its allies in promoting a sustainable solution to the precarious nuclear standoff. The crisis began last year when a U.S. delegation a presented evidence of a covert uranium enrichment program in North Korea — in violation of its non-nuclear commitments. Three-way talks in Beijing in April yielded no progress. In the meantime, the country has resumed plutonium production, withdrawn from the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and thrown out international inspectors. North Korea is apparently able and willing to build nuclear weapons, unless a diplomatic solution is found soon. For its part, the Bush administration has steadfastly demanded an immediate, non-reversible, verifiable end to all nuclear programs. The talks may open the door to this desirable end. U.S. willingness to offer meaningful concessions and work closely with its Asian allies and partners holds the key. North Korea is extraordinarily concerned about its national security. A nuclear program provides its leaders a potential panacea for their military, economic, and diplomatic vulnerability. U.S. negotiating strategy should reflect, and respect, this reality by providing security guarantees, economic incentives, and progress toward full diplomatic relations in exchange for an end to the nuclear program. Early minor concessions by the world’s singular superpower toward one of the globe’s weakest states would set a positive atmosphere for what needs to be a sustained, multifaceted process. Secretary of State Colin Powell stated recently, “We seek a different kind of relationship with North Korea.” The administration needs to demonstrate this commitment. The United States can halt its blocking of economic assistance by the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank and draw down its offensive military posture in South Korea (including a freeze on the proposed $10 billion in military upgrades on the peninsula), while starting the process toward full diplomatic relations. We cannot allow this opportunity to slip away. Previous stalling by the Bush administration was based on four misconceptions that dangerously distort reality: 1. North Korea’s neighbors can handle it. U.S. strategy to date has sought to isolate the country, encouraging others to pressure North Korea while standing aloof from the diplomatic scuffle. Now that North Korea has come to the table, it is time for the U.S. to bring serious proposals aimed at ending the standoff. Only then can outstanding bilateral issues with Japan and South Korea be addressed. 2. We have options. It is terrifyingly mistaken to imagine that the Pentagon’s chain of escalation — economic sanctions, naval blockades, and surgical strikes — will lead to anything less than a second Korean War. We should take Pyongyang at their word: sanctions mean war, and strikes mean nuclear war. 3. Isolation will lead to the collapse of North Korea. Trade sanctions will not work. No one depends less on international trade than North Korea. As William Perry, former U.S. Secretary of Defense, told President Clinton in 1994, we need to deal with North Korea as it is, not as we wish it to be. 4. There is no harm in waiting. North Korea will continue to escalate both the rhetoric and its antagonistic actions until it gets nuclear arms or continued negotiations. North Korea’s fighter jets now follow U.S. spy planes, and it recently launched a short-range missile toward Japan, all while Chinese and U.S. troops train for a Korea “scenario.” The higher the tensions, the smaller an accident it will take to set off hostilities. Such misconceptions must be thrust aside as the U.S. starts walking forward with North Korea and its neighbors toward a new, peaceful Korea. The journey will be long and arduous. The time to start is now. James Reilly and Wu Na are the East Asia Quaker International Affairs Representatives working with the American Friends Service Committee. Based in Dalian, China, they facilitate regional exchanges aimed at reducing militarism and promoting conflict resolution, and work to improve U.S./China and U.S./North Korea relations. --- OneWorld Guest Editorials represent the viewpoint of the authors and not necessarily that of the OneWorld Network. Read and comment on previous Guest Editorials. If you would like to contribute or suggest a future OneWorld Guest Editorial, please contact Miles Litvinoff. |
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