ID :
84623
Thu, 10/15/2009 - 14:13
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/84623
The shortlink copeid
(EDITORIAL from the JoongAng Daily on Oct. 15)
North's inexplicable action
The inter-Korean talks on preventing flooding at the Imjin River were held
yesterday. The discussions were only at the working level, but they were the
first such talks in more than three months. Yet only two days before this
meeting, North Korea inexplicably fired five short-range missiles into the East
Sea. The action breached the United Nations Security Council resolution that bans
all ballistic missile-related activities.
Against the two-track approach by South Korea, the United States and Japan of
applying pressure while holding open the door to dialogue, the North appears to
have prepared its own set of comprehensive countermeasures. It can be surmised
that the North agreed to meet with us because it decided that talks between
Pyongyang and Washington would not proceed smoothly unless tensions on the Korean
Peninsula eased. Whatever the North???s intentions were in terms of the meeting,
it is a positive sign that the country agreed to discuss the agenda that we
prepared.
Its intentions behind the missile launches, however, are much more complicated.
The KN-02 missile it fired this time is the latest version. It can theoretically
strike the metropolitan Seoul area, the Second Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek,
Gyeonggi, and the U.S. Forces Korea base currently under construction there. The
North may have been trying to pressure South Korea and the United States by
showing off its missile capabilities. Pyongyang wanted to prove that it won???t
be easy for the combined U.S.-South Korea forces to combat this particular type
of missile, which uses solid propellant and can be fired from a mobile pad.
But the North???s intentions aren???t simply military: Pyongyang appears to have
a political agenda as it tries to gain the upper hand in its bilateral meeting
with Washington. The North wants to make its point to the U.S. administration,
which is focusing on getting Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons. The North,
in other words, wants the United States to alter its ???hostile??? policy toward
the country.
North Korea could offer to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons in exchange for
the dismantling of U.S. defensive measures in place to protect the South -
including the nuclear umbrella - and the withdrawal of American forces from the
Korean Peninsula.
We have to keep a very close eye on this. Regardless of the North???s intentions,
we have to take control of the situation. We have to come up with measures that
would maximize our gains while taking into account other variables such as
inter-Korean relations, China-North Korea and South Korea-U.S. ties and
U.S.-North Korea talks. We must not be swayed by the constantly changing
environment.
(END)
The inter-Korean talks on preventing flooding at the Imjin River were held
yesterday. The discussions were only at the working level, but they were the
first such talks in more than three months. Yet only two days before this
meeting, North Korea inexplicably fired five short-range missiles into the East
Sea. The action breached the United Nations Security Council resolution that bans
all ballistic missile-related activities.
Against the two-track approach by South Korea, the United States and Japan of
applying pressure while holding open the door to dialogue, the North appears to
have prepared its own set of comprehensive countermeasures. It can be surmised
that the North agreed to meet with us because it decided that talks between
Pyongyang and Washington would not proceed smoothly unless tensions on the Korean
Peninsula eased. Whatever the North???s intentions were in terms of the meeting,
it is a positive sign that the country agreed to discuss the agenda that we
prepared.
Its intentions behind the missile launches, however, are much more complicated.
The KN-02 missile it fired this time is the latest version. It can theoretically
strike the metropolitan Seoul area, the Second Fleet Command in Pyeongtaek,
Gyeonggi, and the U.S. Forces Korea base currently under construction there. The
North may have been trying to pressure South Korea and the United States by
showing off its missile capabilities. Pyongyang wanted to prove that it won???t
be easy for the combined U.S.-South Korea forces to combat this particular type
of missile, which uses solid propellant and can be fired from a mobile pad.
But the North???s intentions aren???t simply military: Pyongyang appears to have
a political agenda as it tries to gain the upper hand in its bilateral meeting
with Washington. The North wants to make its point to the U.S. administration,
which is focusing on getting Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons. The North,
in other words, wants the United States to alter its ???hostile??? policy toward
the country.
North Korea could offer to abandon its pursuit of nuclear weapons in exchange for
the dismantling of U.S. defensive measures in place to protect the South -
including the nuclear umbrella - and the withdrawal of American forces from the
Korean Peninsula.
We have to keep a very close eye on this. Regardless of the North???s intentions,
we have to take control of the situation. We have to come up with measures that
would maximize our gains while taking into account other variables such as
inter-Korean relations, China-North Korea and South Korea-U.S. ties and
U.S.-North Korea talks. We must not be swayed by the constantly changing
environment.
(END)
