North Korea's nuclear threats the last straw
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Pyongyang's belligerence has gone too far; it's time for China, the US and Russia to cooperate in order to bring the pariah state to heel
Preparation for war seems to be a normal activity in North Korea, the world’s most isolated country. It has been that way since the end of the Korean War in 1953. To the Kim family, the world’s only communist dynasty, the world is its enemy because the world deviates from the ideal of dynastic dictatorship and the total submission of the populace. Again, bellicose rhetoric is heard from the North. This time, it is louder, with nuclear war threatened. The region and the world are entering a dangerous period.
Would North Korea really declare war? It might. But the most appropriate question is what would Pyongyang possibly gain from a nuclear war with its neighbours and the United States?
The answer is obvious: a lot. The world in turmoil, especially the Korean Peninsula and East Asia, would be good for North Korea. After all, the progress of the rest of the world has been the main reason that North Korea has gone to the precipice. Pyongyang’s inability to adapt and change in order to improve the lives of its own people, or to conduct good relations with its southern neighbour and others, is the key point. Creating an environment of instability and confusion in the region fits the psyche of the North Korean leaders, which they can then use as justification for belligerence.
North Korea needs help. It has to be reminded that it is heading into an abyss if it triggers war, never mind a nuclear attack. It is not the Kim family or the country’s military leaders but the 40 million ordinary North Koreans who have suffered immeasurably for the past six decades. Innocent people should be our concern. One or two countries can help. The most important is China. Beijing has to take a tough stance and tell North Korea that the game is up. Russia is another country that has a lot of influence over North Korea. Together they can issue sterner demands that Kim and his lieutenants toe the line.
A US display of firepower over the Korean Peninsula may not be of immediate help because North Korea is used to US-South Korean joint military exercises – which it shrugs off as “intimidation”. However, it’s important that South Korea and Japan are assured that the US will step in if North Korea’s threats become a real nightmare. South Korea must also grasp the new reality inside the country. Since the Korean War, the younger generations of South Koreans have grown up more sympathetic to the North than their elders. The government needs to educate its own people about the realpolitik of the Korean Peninsula. For instance, the UN Human Rights Council has already set up a commission of inquiry on rights violations in North Korea. Everything in the South cannot be about smart phones and K-pop, which in the end cannot guarantee the national sovereignty. Both the younger and older generation must be on the same page so that the North Korean propaganda machine doesn’t work to divide public opinion and politicians.
North Korea behaves in such a way because it has been able to get away with such atrocious behaviour for decades, especially regarding its nuclear ambition. Its foolish leaders have been tolerated for too long. Pyongyang must realise that becoming a nuclear state while the population starves and dies of malnutrition will not be sustainable. Nobody wants to see North Korea collapse, because this situation is not just about North and South Korea or Northeast Asia, it is about the safety of the world. Pyongyang must not be allowed to get away with issuing threats of nuclear war now or at any time in the future.
