The three stooges, from left to right, Park Gyn-Hae, Barack Obama and Abe Shinzo. All of them have failed overwhelmingly with their responses towards the "North Korean problem"
Whilst North Korea’s nuclear program is obviously uncomfortable, undesirable and counterproductive to the wishes of the international community and broader peace, it is not without reason or rationale. Those around it seem incapable of understanding this. Contrary to popular belief, North Korea is not a state out to wage war, destruction and terror, it is an insecure entity out to secure its own national survival in an international environment which from day one has been overwhelmingly hostile towards it. It constructs its nuclear program as a defence mechanism and a deterrent against a primary opponent who has waged crusades around the world removing similar regimes, somewhat mercilessly, from power. The recent profilerations since 2006 represent dramatic consequences of U.S foreign policy in the 20th and 21st centuries, not least to mention the foreground of the Korean War and Japanese occupation, neither of which have ever been formally resolved.
The output of all these circumstances together have created a North Korean regime which sees its own survival and the maintence of its sovereignty as its sole political priority. Above everyhing, including its economy and its own people. It has gave birth to an extremely anxious authoritarian system, a sense of isolation (deeply misunderstood through western eyes), the core of the “Juche” (self-reliance) ideology itself.It is post traumatic stress disorder, mental trauma, applied on a sociological level. Those involved choose purposefully not to understand it, but to pursue antagonistic responses which merely enable the situation to remain static.
Not once have the U.S, South Korea and Japan ever stopped to consider that North Korea might just have genuine security concerns regarding them, that North Korea actually has an “opinion” like they do themselves. Never have they even considered that they do endlessly vilify North Korea the way North Korea seemingly vilifies them. It is always about how North Korea is “evil”, “irrational” and cannot possibly play any part in any constructive dialogue, ever. President Park Geun-Hye of South Korea’s response to this latest missile saga has been worrisome, counterproductive and almost as deemingly reckless as North Korea itself. Not only has she severed the Kaesong-Industrial Complex, a necessary measure of economic coordination and independence (thus a breaking mechanism for tensions), but she has likewise gone as far to openly threaten North Korea with the collapse of their regime. It is the sort of rhetoric that would even make Syngman Rhee cringe “too far!“, why does she think they’re building missiles then? And with threatening rhetoric like that, do you think ever North Korea are just going to cave in? Absolutely not, this is a state which was prepared to let thousands of its own people starve to death than to concede a particular of power to the outside world, not least give up a nuclear weapons program.
South Korea's Park Geun Hye talked of a "North Korean collapse" in response to their nuclear test, possibly the most iressponsible and counterproductive one can say in this scenario.
Whilst we cannot deny, the answer to the Korean saga is not nuclear profileration, but at the same time nor is the answer sanctions, threats and militarization. The answer is dialogue, neutral dialogue. If nuclear profileration is a consequence of international insecurity, then that insecurity as a priori must be dealt with first. The United States, Japan and South Korea must be prepared to blunt their pride, drop their political agendas and resolve the disputes that they have not even began to consider which have led to this situation. There must be a formal peace treaty, a formal end to the Korean War, a Japanese admission of the crimes committed on the Korean peninsula during occupation, a guarantee of security and a pledge to open up diplomatic relations from all sides towards the North. The international community must be prepared to accept a “one country, two systems” solution to the Korean problem, with both sides pragmatically dropping their claim that the other regime should not exist, opening up a dialogue of gradualist economic integration and cooperation. As much as some people may not like North Korea, it is time for its enemies to accept that the pathway to trying to get rid of them will be dangerous, destructive and come with a scarring humanitarian cost. If we are to even start at square one, the existence of North Korea must be accepted.
The U.S congress sits there, viewing the world through star spangled banner tinted glasses, dictating what it can and cannot do, without any care of the actual reality.
Thus, contrary to all the bile spouted in Congress, North Korea is not a threat to the United States, rather the United States is a threat to North Korea. North Korea can barely feed or provide electricity to its entire population, nevermind wage a conventional war against the United States. America looks at the world through blurred star spangled banner tainted glasses, fooling millions that each political situation is a destined battle between good and evil, tyranny and liberty. It is not. The North Korean problem is in many respects truly an American created situation, only when that admission of failure and irresponsibility comes is when progress can begin. Yet, knowing politics, it never will. Sanctions will continue, threats will continue, militarization will continue and thus so, will a nuclear armed North Korea fighting for its own survival and defiant of its enemies, continue.
