Each Conceding One Step, US & North Korea Seize the Opportunity for Peace

 Each Conceding One Step, US & North Korea Seize the Opportunity for Peace

China Times Editorial (Taipei, Taiwan)

March 10, 2018

 Translation of an Excerpt

A significant point appeared amid the tense situation on the Korean peninsula; North Korean leader Kim Jong-un sent a message through the South Korean special envoy to convey his willingness to meet with US President Trump. Earlier, North Korea had revealed that if security could be safeguarded, he would be willing to negotiate with the United States on abandoning nuclear arms and intercontinental missiles; the US quickly responded. Both sides have scheduled to hold a meeting in May. In contrast with last year, when North Korea frequently proceeded with nuclear explosions and test-fired intercontinental missiles, the United States, on the other hand, repeatedly launched large-scale military exercises and threatened to use force. The tense situation in which the Korean peninsula was on the brink of war seems to have thawed overnight.

Kim Jong-un's bait is very tempting; he indicated that if the military threat toward North Korea was removed and the security of the regime and institutions were all secured, North Korea would no longer have to possess nuclear weapons. He also guaranteed that during the period of dialogue, North Korea would not conduct nuclear explosions or test ballistic missiles, and guaranteed that he would not use nuclear arms or conventional weapons against South Korea.

After having concrete results in the development of nuclear arms and intercontinental ballistic missiles, which were sufficient to shake the United States, thus garnering enough bargaining chips to wrestle with the United States, Kim Jong-un did begin to release his bait. He showed a card using security guarantees in exchange for jettisoning nuclear arms, precisely echoing the US stance which would no longer require the jettisoning of nuclear arms as a premise for talks. Trump questioned the end result of talks, but having an opportunity for contact and dialogue, exploring the other side's calculations, estimating each other’s hidden base price, would after all produce more possibilities for changes than the impasse across the ocean.

The US and North Korea talks could drag on for a long time, even off and on, exhausting the US’ patience in exchange for a peaceful life in North Korea. Even if an agreement could be reached, the international community would have to cautiously observe whether Kim Jong-un could fully implement his commitments, veritably destroying nuclear arms and accepting regular inspections of the International Atomic Energy Agency. However, any chance to turn a crisis into peace should, after all, be tried as international wrestling has never had room for naïveté; maintaining peace and security requires proactive efforts and more innovative trials.

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