Blog 9: US Expresses Need for Talks with North Korea

As I mentioned last week, I have been following the recent events of escalating tension on the Korean peninsula since North Korea began to launch verbal threats against South Korea and The US amid joint military operations between the two that North Korea views as threat escalating.  The article that I chose for this week discusses The US’s willingness to pursue peace talks with North Korea as long as they agree to denuclearize.  So basically, peace talks will not occur.  John Kerry, US secretary of state traveled to Japan recently to speak with Japan about these issues and the possibility that Japan will be affected by missiles that North Korea is confirmed to have.  If North Korea tests its medium range missile (that cannot reach The US, but can reach Japan and Guam) and that test somehow goes awry, there is a high possibility for error that results in Japan being hit by this missile.  Kerry urged North Korea to bear in mind its international obligations in regards to nuclear weapons and expressed that The US stands with Japan and South Korea in hoping that North Korea will proceed diplomatically and with caution.

             North Korean tensions have arguably risen only as a result of Kim Jong-un’s recent ascension to power and the need to have the citizens rally around their new leader.  The only problem with this new tactic is that it is dangerous and relies on the hope that a preemptive strike will not occur.  If North Korea continues to develop its nuclear program and continued weapons testing, its citizens will most likely lose hope in their leadership as continued weapons programs harm the domestic economy and leave its people in economic recession.  According to this article, Kerry took a strong stance against a nuclear North Korea and sought talks not with an open mind but an open agenda that he laid out clearly: denuclearize.  It seems like these talks were stopped before they began with the strong rhetoric from Kerry that in the past, North Korea has proven not to respond well to.

http://www.aljazeera.com/news/asia-pacific/2013/04/20134145015274872.html

Steven Harrison

4/15/2013

4:16pm