One of modern history’s longest running ‘wars’ is nearing an end, or is it?
North and South Korea are
agreeing to meet for the purpose of bringing a long awaited but dubious peace to their corner of the world.
South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun signed an eight-point peace agreement with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il on Thursday at a summit in Pyongyang, North Korea.
The two leaders have pledged to work toward forging a permanent peace treaty between their nations, which ended the 1950-1953
war with a cease-fire.
President Roh sounded hopeful about the two countries working out any remaining conflicting issues, after nuclear disarmament has been verified.
North Korea is currently involved in agreements with the U.S., China, Japan, Russia and South Korea that will lead to disabling all of its nuclear facilities.
After several years of fruitless talks, Kim finally agreed, this past February, to begin shutting down the nuclear facility at
Yongbyon but only after being assured of receiving a variety of economic and diplomatic benefits. Even after receiving those assurances he still held the facility as a bargaining chip to secure the release of more than $20 million that had been held in a Macau bank account. That money was ordered frozen from Kim by the U.S. because it was believed that the money was tied to narcotics, counterfeiting and arms sales.
Only after verifying that every penny was returned to him did Kim abide by the agreement to shutter the Yongbyon facility, several months later.
Kim was allowed to get away with these criminal acts for the greater good of having that nuclear reactor dismantled.
Personally, I would rather see the reactor torn down than to have to try to put Kim Jong Il on trial for those crimes, a course of action that would never happen. I don’t believe for a minute that he won’t continue to be involved in his past criminal activities. He probably still is today.
The only thing remaining that Kim really wants has not been given him. The U.S. placed North Korea on the terrorist sponsorship list and Kim wants to get removed from that designation. The reason he wants to be removed from the list is that North Korea is denied access to economic benefits like low-interest World Bank loans.
North Korea states that it was assured they were to be removed from the list as part of the agreements in dismantling the nuclear facility. The U.S. denies North Korea's contention. Now that this point is in dispute, Kim wants to again use the facility as a bargaining chip.
This is clearly an individual that has not changed as much as he wants the world to believe. All of his posturing to appear to be in search of peace is nothing more than an attempt to get his country off of that list for economic benefits.
He still has not actually begun dismantling that nuclear facility. He still has the ability to use nuclear weapons and since he has already test fired one the world knows that he can do so again whenever he wants. All of that ‘muscle-flexing’ was to put himself into a better bargaining position to get off of that list.
In going through the motions in the six-nation talks he has already received some of the economic aid promised under the original agreement, mainly from South Korea and China. He is playing the game very well and is getting more than he is giving. China has already considered the deal done and has moved on to other matters, such as preparing for the Olympic games.
The U.S. is in no position to continue bargaining with North Korea because it would interrupt the long anticipated peace process that Kim so skillfully keeps just out of reach of the world community.
My guess is that the U.S. will cave-in to his masterfully planned out deception and give Kim Jong Il the one thing he wants most. Will he give the world what we want most, to actually dismantle that facility and end his nuclear threat against us? The only thing we can now do is trust him.
