Editorial: Sanctions as Compromise

Editorial

16 October 2006

ALTHOUGH North Korea’s statement that sanctions as punishment for its nuclear test are tantamount to a declaration of war, Pyongyang is essentially saber-rattling without the saber. The North knows it cannot launch a nuclear attack or manufacture more atomic weapons without risking an attack against it. At the same time, the Bush administration knows the limits of its military power and cannot afford to attack North Korea; so it settled for Saturday’s economic steps at the United Nations. Also, the blockade of nuclear and missile technology into and out of North Korea was not backed by threat of military force, meaning the North will not lash out with a military option of its own.

Still, North Korea is not expected to roll over and play dead. Another nuclear explosion or rocket launch might be likely. Such a reaction and the nuclear device it has already tested goes against its policy position not to seek to own even one nuclear weapon.

So why have one? In the North’s view, the biggest danger is the United States which Pyongyang believes wants to see regime change. The North also asks why there is no mention of concern about the US military presence in the region targeted at deterring Pyongyang. From the North’s view, its nuclear program is simply a way to stave off a US offensive.

A desire for increased development aid and trade and economic assistance could be another force behind North Korea’s desire to detonate a nuclear bomb. Pyongyang wants to be taken seriously, and being a nuclear power is one way of focusing world attention on its economic mess. North Korea’s pulling of the nuclear trigger might be due to several reasons and has generated more than one global response. On the international political scene, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il is simultaneously villain and hero. Amid condemnation, there is a sneaking admiration for this daring deed. Even if a UN resolution censures Pyongyang, it seems that only by playing ball within the new world order, dominated by the US, can a Third World country be treated with the respect it deserves but often does not receive.

North Korea’s nuclear test has also inevitably inflamed the traditional grievance against US bias toward Israel. Why is it that the world turns a blind eye to Israel’s nuclear arsenal and makes a fuss over North Korea’s test? Why the double standard? Western powers in concert have long prevented the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from voting on a motion to prevent Israel from utilizing nuclear energy for military purposes. Why shouldn’t Israel, which possesses nuclear weapons, be forced to use atomic energy strictly and exclusively for peaceful purposes?

Western powers, with warped logic, allege that Israel is a democratic state, the only true democracy in the Middle East, and is therefore entitled to develop its nuclear program freely without the limitations of inspections and IAEA safeguards. But what has this “responsible democracy” done except summarily invade Lebanon and re-invade Gaza with brute savagery? Is the world to trust such a belligerent nation in possession of nuclear weapons?

Link:

U.N. adopts resolution against N. Korea