Did we expect too much too soon from North Korea?

Kim Jong-un, the new young leader of North Korea, has already generated great disappointment around the world after the announcement of the pariah state’s planned launch of a satellite. The Western countries, especially the United States, have expressed great concern over the plan because, at the end of February, both South Korea and the US agreed to provide food aid to North Korea in return for the latter’s promise to stop its nuclear weapons testing programme. Besides the planned satellite launch, North Korea also continues to test long-range missiles.

It is unfortunate that Kim has failed to live up to expectations, only a short time after taking the reins of power. In the past, Western intelligence agencies have always associated satellite launches with experiments in long-range missile technology, which Pyongyang is now attempting to perfect. The planned launch of the satellite in mid-April coincides with the general election in South Korea. It is no secret that North Korea wants to see a new government in the South that will not take a tough stand against its government. The launch also celebrates the hundredth anniversary of the birth of North Korea’s founder Kim Il-sung.

In more than one way, the satellite decision shows that the North Korean military is asserting its control over the young leader. Earlier, several governments were openly hopeful that they could work with the young Kim. South Korea under President Lee Myung Bak has been trying to provide aid assistance to the starving North since Kim took over, but somehow the general political atmosphere in North Korea remains hostile to the South and other outsiders. Seoul wants to see Pyongyang return to the stalled six-party talks to continue to work on the denuclearisation effort.

The international community must not be fooled by North Korea’s persistence in using old tricks. The combination of confrontation and threats with last-minute cooperation is a well-worn strategy that the North uses in order to get what it wants. For decades, this oppressive regime has been able to get away scot-free with food assistance from various international organisations while it continues to spend money on defence instead of improving the lives of ordinary North Koreans, most of whom face severe food shortages and live in dire poverty.

At the Asean summit, the leaders of the regional grouping are expected to discuss security on the Korean Peninsula as part of the regional security issue. Asean is very concerned that any disruption to peace and stability on the volatile peninsula will affect the overall economic performance of the whole of East Asia. Cambodia, as the Asean chair, has a good, long-standing relationship with North Korea. The chair can thus take the initiative to try to convince Pyongyang to discuss the six-party talks on the sidelines of meetings in the middle of this year during the Asean Regional Forum. 

Several of the six-party members are not enthusiastic about further engagement by Asean, but it is imperative that the international community continues to keep the pressure on North Korea. 

South Korea is organising a nuclear summit next week to discuss the possibility of a nuclear-free world. Pyongyang’s nuclear aggression does not augur well for the success of that idea at all. The current attitude in the North simply confirms that the international community has much more work to do to prevent North Korea developing any more weapons of mass destruction.