NORTH KOREA’S PROPOSED TALKS WITH THE US

N. KOREA PROPOSES U.S. TALKS ON PEACE TREATY, DENUCLEARIZATION

Sangwon Yoon and Rose Kim

Bloomberg, June 16, 2013

North Korea proposed its first talks with the U.S. in more than a year to discuss nuclear disarmament and a peace treaty to formally end the Korean War, less than a week after it scrapped a meeting with the South.

Any talks must have no preconditions, an unidentified spokesperson of North Korea’s National Defense Commission said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. North Korea confirmed its denuclearization commitment on condition that it’s discussed as part of broader talks toward a“nuclear free world,” the commission headed by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said.

The U.S. is unlikely to agree to today’s proposal after repeatedly demanding North Korea take steps toward disarmament as a condition for any dialogue. China, North Korea’s biggest benefactor, has also taken a tougher stance against Kim’s regime after it tested an atomic weapon in February and threatened pre-emptive nuclear strikes in response to sanctions.

“There is no sincerity in North Korea’s offer today for dialogue with U.S., nor do the Americans have any reason to accept the proposal when the North shows no change in its stance regarding its nuclear weapons program,” Park Young Ho, senior research fellow at the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul, said by phone today. “Ultimately the offer is aimed to appease China, to show that the North is heeding Beijing’s calls for a return to dialogue.”

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US, CHINA, AND INDIA

THE G-2 DILEMMA

The current dynamic between the US and China poses challenges for Delhi

C. Raja Mohan

The Indian Express, June 11, 2013

The informal California summit over the weekend between the US and Chinese presidents, Barack Obama and Xi Jinping has unveiled a new phase in great power relations and demands a significant recalibration of India’s recent foreign policy assumptions. Although the summit did not produce any major breakthroughs, its very conception is based on the American recognition that a measure of political understanding with China is necessary for the management of the challenges confronting Asia and the world.

Any talk of US-China collaboration makes India rather nervous. Two recent occasions come to mind. In June 1998, barely weeks after the Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests, presidents Bill Clinton and Jiang Zemin declared the intent to build a strategic partnership and promote non-proliferation in the subcontinent. New Delhi went into a paroxysm denouncing the prospects for a Sino-US “condominium” in Asia.

In a Beijing summit in November 2009, Obama and Hu Jintao declared their commitment to seek stability in the subcontinent. Travelling to the US three weeks later, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sought assurances from the US president that Washington’s partnership with Beijing will not be at the expense of Delhi. Looking back a little further, in the early years of the Cold War, India continually urged America and the Soviet Union to end their confrontation and seek peaceful coexistence. When America and Russia sought to achieve precisely those objectives in the 1970s, Delhi became anxious about superpower hegemony and protested nuclear agreements between them that constrained India’s strategic options.

The current dynamic between America and China will pose even greater challenges to Delhi. In the 1970s, Delhi neutralised the impact of Sino-American rapprochement by a tighter embrace of Soviet Russia. Today, Moscow is much closer to Beijing and is not eager to balance a rising China.

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CHINA AND THE SLD

SHANGRI-LA LOST FOR CHINA

Bonnie Glaser

Asia Times, June 5, 2013

The Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD), launched by the Institute of International Strategic Studies (IISS) in 2002, brings together Asia-Pacific defense ministers and experts from around the world to discuss regional security challenges and opportunities for cooperation.

The 12th SLD convened in Singapore from May 31 to June 2. IISS Director General and Chief Executive John Chipman noted in his opening remarks that the meeting took place "after a year of heightened tensions in the Asia-Pacific, recognizing that defense diplomacy is needed to contain disputes, limit provocations and inspire conflict prevention".

For a vast number of the attendees, much of the instability in the region can be traced to China's assertive defense of its expansive sovereignty claims in the South China Sea and East China Sea.

Concern about China was the main theme of the opening keynote speech delivered by Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung. Although China was not singled out by name, it was clear that his references to growing risks to "maritime security and safety as well as freedom of navigation" were delivered with China in mind.

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US, CHINA AND NORTH KOREA

NORTH KOREA COMMON GROUND FOR US, CHINA

George Gao

Asia Times, June 4, 2013

UNITED NATIONS - US President Barack Obama is set to host his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, on June 7-8 for their first bilateral meeting as heads of state. Figuring on their agenda is how to address a precarious North Korea, which is armed with a small nuclear arsenal and vying for a bigger one.

In the past seven years, North Korea has suffered a spate of UN Security Council sanctions, the most recent of which was co-drafted by the US and China in March under resolution 2094. The resolution prohibits the transfer of any materials and financial assets into North Korea that may contribute its nuclear program. The resolution also prevents some luxury goods from entering the country.

But in general, UN sanctions have yet to halt North Korea's nuclear developments, much less disarm its nuclear arsenal.

"Clearly, UN sanctions have not been effective, as evidenced by North Korea's continued development and testing of nuclear weapons since sanctions were first introduced in 2006," said Charles K Armstrong, a professor of history at Columbia University and the director of the Center for Korean Research.

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THE SHANGRI-LA DIALOGUE SEEN BY CHINA

CHINA MEDIA: SHANGRI-LA DIALOGUE

BBC News, June 3, 2013

Media and experts discuss territorial tensions and US military deployments in Asia following a security conference in Singapore, while the Hong Kong press note a rift among the pro-democracy camp ahead of the 4 June vigil.

Global Times expresses disappointment at US Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel's declaration at the Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore that the US will redeploy 60% of its fleet and overseas-based air force to the Asia-Pacific region by 2020.

It says his remarks have spoiled the atmosphere ahead of a key summit between the Chinese and US presidents later this week.

"The military redeployment is a self-deceiving and misguiding effort to check and balance China. This is also an embodiment of the fact that the US is nearly exhausted when it comes to dealing with China's rise," it says.

China Daily also criticises Mr Hagel's "unwarranted accusations" on Chinese state-backed cyber-attacks.

"Compared with China's consistency, the US is sending a mixed, and even confusing, message... The US defence chief should be told that such unconfirmed allegations neither help solve the issue, nor help build strategic mutual trust between the two countries," it says.

In Global Times, Han Xudong, a professor at the National Defence University, says "Western" media "hype about China's growing military power and the US' military redeployments serves multiple ulterior motives including helping the US to export more arms as well as build a US-led security system in Asia-Pacific.

(...) [article here]

US-CHINA TALKS

CYBERSECURITY TOPS OBAMA'S AGENDA FOR CHINA TALKS

Julie Pace (AP)

The Guardian, June 2, 2013

AP White House Correspondent= WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will be looking for signs from China's leader at their upcoming meeting that Beijing is ready to address its reported high-tech spying, which the White House sees as a top threat to the U.S. economy and national security.

The talks between Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping will be followed by a July meeting between U.S. and Chinese officials focusing on cyberespionage, along with other strategic and economic issues. Secretary of State John Kerry announced the U.S.-China meetings when he visited Beijing in April.

The summit Friday and Saturday at a California estate also is aimed at establishing personal ties between Obama and Xi as relations between the two global powers grow increasingly complex.

Obama needs Xi's help in stemming nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran, combating the violence in Syria, and continuing the U.S. economic recovery.

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CHINA, THE US AND CYBER ESPIONAGE

HAGEL CHIDES CHINA FOR CYBER ESPIONAGE

Ernesto Londono

The Washington Post, June 1, 2013

SINGAPORE — Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel took China to task for alleged cyber espionage on Saturday, drawing a sharp response from a Chinese general who questioned whether America’s growing military presence in Asia is anything more than an affront to Beijing’s rise.

Delivering the keynote speech at the Shangri-La Security Dialogue, Hagel said the U.S. is “clear-eyed about the challenges in cyber,” and echoed past administration assertions that the “growing threat of cyber intrusions,” targeting U.S. government and industry portals “appear to be tied to the Chinese government and military.”

It was the latest public charge from the Obama administration, which has concluded that calling out China publicly could curb what U.S. officials call a brazen and sophisticated quest for American secrets stored online.

“We are determined to work more vigorously with China and other partners to establish international norms of responsible behavior in cyberspace,” Hagel said in a conference hall packed with Asian military officials.

China has denied Washington’s accusations, most pointedly last week, when it said it did not need to steal American military hardware blueprints because it was more than capable of producing its own.

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PRESSURE ON NORTH KOREA

S. KOREA, US AND CHINA COORDINATING PRESSURE ON N. KOREA

Recent diplomatic activity shows three countries working together to address N. Korea nuclear issue

Kim Kyu-won and Gil Yun-hyung, staff reporters and Seong Yeon-cheol, Beijing correspondent

The Hankyoreh, May 9, 2013

Seoul, Washington, and Beijing are working together on an all-out pressure offensive against Pyongyang.

South Korean President Park Geun-hye and US President Barack Obama formally stated at their May 7 summit that North Korea would have to make changes before any dialogue could take place. Prior to the meeting, the Bank of China blocked accounts with North Korea’s Foreign Trade Bank (FTB).

The question now is how North Korea will react to the pressure.

Park and Obama made it clear at their summit that North Korea would have to make changes first if it wants dialogue.

Obama said at a press conference that the two countries were “prepared to engage with North Korea diplomatically and, over time, build trust.”

But he also stressed, “the days when North Korea could create a crisis and elicit concessions . . . are over.”

The remarks sent a strong message to Pyongyang that it is on the wrong path and needs to get back on the right track. They also surprised some observers who were expecting a surprise dialogue offer to North Korea to emerge from the summit in response to the recent tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

Similar behavior was seen from Beijing. On May 7, just before the South Korea-US summit, the Bank of China gave notice to FTB that it was closing its accounts and halting all financial transactions. The Bank of China is the country’s largest foreign exchange bank, while FTB handles North Korea’s overseas financial operations.

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CHINA DENIES CYBER ESPIONAGE

CHINA DENIES US ALLEGATIONS OF CYBER ESPIONAGE

Spencer Kimball

Deutsche Welle, May 8, 2013

For the first time, Washington has directly accused Beijing of conducting cyber espionage against the Pentagon. The attacks were allegedly aimed at gathering intelligence on US defense programs.

Beijing has denied US allegations that the Chinese military was conducting cyber espionage against the Pentagon, claiming instead that Washington was trying to sensationalize China's military buildup as a national security threat.

"The Chinese government and armed forces have never sanctioned hacking activities," Senior Colonel Wang Xinjun, a researcher at the Academy of Military Sciences in Beijing, told the official Xinhau news agency. The academy is a high-level research institute affiliated with the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

In its annual report on China's ongoing military buildup, the US Defense Department had claimed on Monday that some recent breaches of American government-owned computer networks were "attributable directly to the Chinese government and military."

"These intrusions were focused on exfiltrating information," The Pentagon said in its report. "China is using its computer network exploitation (CNE) capability to support intelligence collection against the U.S. diplomatic, economic, and defense industrial base sectors that support US national defense programs."

China's Foreign Ministry, for its part, called the US allegations of cyber espionage "irresponsible," saying that China's defense buildup was "legitimate and normal."

"China is committed to a path of peaceful development and pursues a defensive defense policy," said Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hu Chunying, adding that Beijing "resolutely oppose[s] any form of hacking attacks."

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CHINA AND CYBER ESPIONAGE

PENTAGON: CHINESE GOVERNMENT, MILITARY BEHIND CYBERSPYING

Ernesto Londoño

The Washington Post, May 7, 2013

Cyber-espionage targeting U.S. government and business entities appears “to be attributable to the Chinese government and military,” the Pentagon charged Monday in the U.S. government’s most explicit public accusation to date against Beijing.

The 2013 “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China” provides detailed allegations about a problem of rising concern to the U.S. government and American businesses.

Chinese hacking capabilities are particularly worrisome because U.S. officials fear that Beijing could use them as an offensive tactic.

“The access and skills required for these intrusions are similar to those necessary to conduct computer network attacks,” the report says.

The Chinese government has denied orchestrating or condoning hacking operations against U.S. government and corporate networks.

The Pentagon added that China is also stepping up its conventional weapons and aerospace systems, saying China is transforming an armed force that two decades ago was regarded as “a poorly equipped, ground forces-centric military.”

Significantly, China rolled out last year its first aircraft carrier and invested heavily in short- and medium-range ballistic missiles.

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CHINA’S MILITARY MODERNIZATION

CHINA INTENDS TO LIMIT US OPERATIONS IN WEST PACIFIC: PENTAGON

PTI

The Indian Express, April 26 2013

Washington: Expressing concerns over the pace at which China is increasing its defence budget and rapidly modernising its armed forces, the Pentagon has said that the aim of the regional hegemony is to limit US's ability to operate in Western Pacific.

"The concern that we have is the pace of this military expenditure as well as the scope of the investments. China's investing in a comprehensive modernisation of its military," David Helvey, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for the East Asia Asian and Pacific Security Affairs, told Senators during a Congressional hearing.

Responding to questions, Helvey said China's defence budget now stands at USD 120 billion and has been growing at 10 per cent per annum for past two decades now.

"The challenge is that there is not a whole lot of transparency in terms of what China's military spending," he said.

The US, he said, is paying good attention to a number of capabilities that China is building now.

"China's investments in its nuclear and nuclear-capable forces is something that we're watching very carefully; investments in its undersea warfare capabilities, including submarines both nuclear-powered and conventionally diesel-powered submarines, as well as its long-range conventional precision strike weapons systems, both ballistic and cruise missiles," Helvey said.

"These are part and parcel of what we in the Department of Defence refer to as an anti-access and area denial type of strategy, which, if put into place and executed, could be intended to limit the ability of the United States or other militaries from operating in the Western Pacific," the top Pentagon official told lawmakers.

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KIM JONG-UN, MISSILES AND NUCLEAR ARMS

KIM WON’T TALK ON N KOREA’S NUCLEAR ARMS, DIA CHIEF SAYS

Tony Capaccio and Sangwon Yoon

Bloomberg, April 18, 2013

Dictator Kim Jong Un, “firmly in control” of the North Korean regime, isn’t prepared to negotiate about ending his nuclear and missile programs, according to the Pentagon’s top intelligence official.

North Korea is “no longer willing to negotiate over eliminating its nuclear and ballistic missile programs,” Army Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, said in testimony prepared for a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing later today.

While Kim’s threats of missile launches and nuclear tests “leave North Korea more isolated economically and diplomatically, we believe North Korea’s intent ultimately is to convince the United States of the futility of continued sanctions and force the U.S. back to negotiations on terms more favorable to North Korea,” Flynn wrote in a statement obtained by Bloomberg News.

Flynn’s testimony comes a day after Secretary of State John Kerry told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the U.S. won’t “come to the table” for negotiations “without some pretty ironclad concept on how we’re going forward on the denuclearization.”

The DIA chief wrote that North Korea is “convinced of its need to possess nuclear weapons as a guarantor of its national security,” and “is more likely now to push for negotiations over security guarantees, a peace treaty and elimination of economic sanctions.”

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NORTH KOREA: KERRY IN CHINA

KERRY OFFERS MISSILE DEFENSE CONCESSION

Seeks help from China in dealing with North Korea

Michael R. Gordon (NYT)

The Boston Globe, April 14, 2013

BEIJING — Secretary of State John Kerry flew to China on Saturday and offered a concession on missile defense meant to elicit China’s help in dealing with an increasingly recalcitrant and nuclear armed North Korea.

In a news conference after meetings with China’s top leaders, Kerry said the United States would reduce its missile defenses in Asia if North Korea abandoned its nuclear weapons program.

Kerry’s overture appeared aimed at addressing Chinese concerns that North Korea’s provocative actions were leading the United States to build up military strength in the region as China is boosting its own influence there.

‘‘On missile defense, we discussed absolutely why we have taken the steps that we have taken,’’ Kerry said, referring to efforts the United States is taking to defend Guam, Hawaii, and the United States’ allies in Asia against a potential North Korean missile attack. The United States has dispatched two ships capable of missile defense and said it would speed up land-based missile defenses for Guam.

‘‘Now obviously if the threat disappears — i.e. North Korea denuclearizes — the same imperative does not exist at that point of time for us to have that kind of robust forward leaning posture of defense,’’ he added. ‘‘It would be our hope in the long run, or better yet in short run, that we can address that.’’

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NUCLEAR MISSILES IN NK?

U.S. AGENCY SAYS NORTH KOREA HAS NUCLEAR WEAPON BUT SEEN UNLIKELY

Arshad Mohammed

Reuters, April 12, 2013

SEOUL (Reuters) - A U.S. government agency said North Korea has a nuclear weapon it can mount on a missile, adding an ominous dimension to tensions on the Korean peninsula as U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry arrived for talks in Seoul on Friday.

However, the assessment by the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) was swiftly dismissed by several U.S. officials and South Korea.

Asked if war was imminent, a U.S. official in South Korea said: "Not at all".

Washington's greatest concern, the official said, was the possibility of unexpected developments linked to the inexperience of North Korea's 30-year-old leader, Kim Jong-un.

"Kim Jong-un's youth and inexperience make him very vulnerable to miscalculation. Our greatest concern is a miscalculation and where that may lead," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

"We have seen no indications of massive troop movements, or troops massing on the border, or massive exercises or anything like that that would back up any of the rhetoric that is going on."

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NK: SANCTIONS AND DIALOGUE

SANCTIONS ON NORTH KOREA MUST BE CARRIED OUT, BUT DIALOGUE IS ALSO NEEDED

The Hankyoreh, March 9, 2013

The biggest threat of war in the 19 years since the 1994 nuclear crisis is clouding over the Korean Peninsula. From the rhetoric coming out of North Korea, it would not be overstating matters to say that the area stands poised at the brink of war.

For the past few days, North Korea has been issuing increasingly intense threats over United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution 2094, which imposes additional sanctions following the country's recent nuclear test, and the Key Resolve joint exercises between South Korea and the US, which are set to begin on March 11. Kim Yong-chol, who handles anti-terrorism operations and psychological warfare as head of the (North) Korean People's Army reconnaissance general bureau, started things off on March 2 with a KPA supreme command spokesperson's statement warning of the nullification of the armistice agreement and turning Seoul and Washington into seas of fire. A few hours before the UNSC resolution was adopted, the North Korean foreign ministry objected vehemently in a spokesperson's statement, saying it would be "difficult now to avoid a second Korean War" and warning that it would "exercise the right to a preemptive nuclear strike against the stronghold of the aggressors." After the resolution, the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea declared the non-aggression agreement with South Korea null and announced the severing of the communication channel between the two countries' Red Cross organizations at Panmunjom. Kim Jong-un rallied the troops with inspection visits on March 7 to the Warrior Hero Defense Unit and the Changjae Island Defense Corps, which carried out a 2010 artillery attack on South Korea's Yeonpyeong Island. It is like watching a runaway train.

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JAPAN AND THE US

AMERICA AND THE RISING SUN: OBAMA, ABE JOIN FORCES TO JUMP-START TWO ECONOMIES

Jacey Fortin

International Business Times, February 23, 2013

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.S. President Barack Obama met for a bilateral summit at the White House on Friday, talking behind closed doors over lunch before addressing the media.

This meeting -- the first between the two leaders -- was a significant event for Obama given the administration’s so-called “pivot” to Asia, which seeks to strengthen partnerships in the region and curtail China’s growing hegemony there.

But it was even more important for Abe, who was just elected in December and whose vision for Japan marks a departure from administrations past. The conservative politician campaigned on promises of military strength and loose monetary policies meant to beat endemic deflation.

“As a result of our discussion, we were able to share our understanding on not just concrete policy but on the direction to which our alliance is headed. I think I can declare with confidence that the trust and the bond in our alliance is back,” Abe said at the press briefing that followed the talks.

The two leaders have much in common -- first and foremost are their ambitious plans to spur economic revitalizations after years of recession in their home countries. That made trade cooperation a key issue for both leaders as they laid a foundation for their new diplomatic partnership.

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THE “PIVOT TO ASIA” STRATEGY

WASHINGTON DEBATES THE PIVOT TO ASIA

Walden Bello

Asia Times, February 21, 2013

Over the last two years, the Obama administration has executed what the president has termed the "Pivot to Asia" strategy, whereby the United States' global military force posture is being reconfigured to focus on the Asia-Pacific region as Washington's central front.

Movement has been rapid, with Washington expanding its naval exercises with Japan, sending marines to Australia, conducting military exercises in the Philippines with its allies, and supporting the negotiating positions of the Philippines and Vietnam on the dispute over the Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, or what Filipinos now call the West Philippine Sea. Sixty percent of the US Navy's strength has been deployed to the Western Pacific.

Containment of China is the aim of the pivot strategy, which has drawn criticism from liberal critics of the policy like Robert Ross, a professor of Political Science at Boston University and a China expert. Writing in the November-December issue of Foreign Affairs, Ross acknowledges that China's actions in the South China Sea - including claiming the whole area as Chinese territorial waters - come across as aggressive. However, the pivot, he claims, is based on "a fundamental misreading of China's leadership," which Ross says is now given to "appeasing an increasingly nationalist public with symbolic gestures of force".

For Ross, China's increasingly bellicose rhetoric stems less from expansionist intent than from the insecurities brought about by high-speed growth followed by economic crisis. Long dependent for its legitimacy on delivering economic growth, domestic troubles related to the global financial crisis have left the Communist Party leadership groping for a new ideological justification, which it has found in nationalism. Countering China's rhetoric with a military cordon sanitaire, says Ross, would deepen the "insecurities" of Beijing, heightening the possibility of an outbreak of conflict while losing China's cooperation in managing conflicts such as the crisis in Syria.

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ENGAGEMENT WITH NORTH KOREA

EXPERT SAYS DIPLOMATIC ENGAGEMENT MAY BE BEST WAY TO REACH NORTH KOREA

At a forum in Seoul, Robert Gallucci says the Koreas, China and the US should cooperate to find a solution to tensions

Kang Tae-ho

The Hankyoreh, February 20, 2013

A former US State Department aide who played a critical role in the Agreed Framework between the US and North Korea in 1994 said on Feb. 19 that diplomatic engagement on the North Korean issue may be the best way of reaching a resolution.

Robert Gallucci, current president of the MacArthur Foundation, discussed the limitations of Washington’s North Korea policy over the past two decades in a keynote speech at the 2013 Asan Nuclear Forum. The event was held in Seoul at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, organized by the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, an organization headed by chairman Ham Jae-bong.

In his speech, Gallucci said US policies of engagement and isolation had both failed at reducing North Korea’s threat to the region. He went on to say that if North Korea was developing nuclear weapons for an armed effort to reunify the peninsula and attack the US, it might be possible to avoid a military clash, but it would be impossible to truly ease regional tensions.

At the same time, he expressed, “It’s my conclusion that the best approach to the current situation is the same one adopted 20 years, namely diplomatic engagement to determine whether Pyongyang is developing nuclear weapons to protect is own regime, verify the genuineness of its intentions, and look for the possibility of a political resolution to tensions.”

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NORTH KOREA: A PRODUCT OF APPEASEMENT?

OUTSIDE VIEW: NORTH KOREA'S NUCLEAR TEST

James Zumwalt

UPI.com, February 19, 2013

HERNDON, Va., Feb. 19 (UPI) -- In the 1976 psychological drama "Taxi Driver," Robert De Niro plays a socially outcast cab driver. In a real-life drama today, North Korea's Kim Jong Un is an internationally isolated world leader. In both roles, these characters communicate messages delivered with a sense of bravado, taunting a non-existing threat.

In an iconic scene in the movie, De Niro, alone in his room, is on an adrenaline high precipitated by insomnia. Looking in the mirror, he challenges no one with, "You talkin' to me? Well, I'm the only one here! You talkin' to me?"

In North Korea, Kim Jong Un is on an adrenaline high due to the success of his country's third nuclear test -- this on a device purportedly smaller and lighter than the others and, thus, capable of placement into a long-range missile.

Issuing his challenge, the well-fed leader -- a giant compared to his diminutive, underfed countrymen -- warns he will take further steps if the United States maintains its "hostile approach" toward North Korea. Trying to create the illusion of a U.S. threat where none exists, Kim taunts an America perceived to be the lion from the Wizard of Oz -- i.e., lacking the courage of its convictions.

Pyongyang knows there is nothing to fear from U.S. foreign policy toward the North -- whether under a Republican or Democratic president, whether the talk is tough or not, whether sanctions were increased or lifted -- for such policy has always failed to influence its conduct away from aggression and nuclear armament.

Years of U.S. and South Korean appeasement have only served to encourage it. As a result, for years, the United States and South Korea have repeatedly been victimized by unprovoked aggression. To this day, a U.S. warship remains in North Korean hands as a continuing reminder of it.

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NK: PEACE, ECONOMIC AND ENERGY AID

STEPHEN BOSWORTH SAY NK NUCLEAR ISSUE REQUIRES A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH

Instead of narrow focus on denuclearization, former US diplomat says broader cooperation is needed among Washington, Beijing and Seoul

Park Hyun

The Hankyoreh, February 18, 2013

Stephen Bosworth, a former United States Special Representative for North Korea policy, said on Feb. 15 that the North Korean nuclear program should be addressed through a comprehensive approach instead of being treated as an isolated issue.

Bosworth’s comments came during a closed-door conference on North Korea policy held by Stanford University’s Walter H. Shorenstein Asia-Pacific Research Center, headed by director Gi-wook Shin.

Bosworth also said he believed North Korea’s recent activities suggested that it was time for the US government to take the threat more seriously.

According to Bosworth, a comprehensive approach may include establishing a peace treaty on the Korean Peninsula to replace the armistice agreement, and conducting negotiations on energy and economic aid to North Korea.

(…) [article here]