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Reality Too Harsh for North Korea’s Nuclear Game


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Editorial

The Chosun Ilbo

North Korea's foreign ministry spokesman disclosed on April 25 that "the reprocessing of spent fuel rods from the atomic power plant at Yongbyon has begun." Pyongyang has thus turned to play its "nuclear card" once again as the announcement came on the heels of the United Nations Security Council's decision to slap sanctions on three North Korean firms, including the Korea Mining Development Trading Corp., accused of backing missile development. Their overseas assets amounting to $31.7 million were frozen.
 
On April 14, shortly after the Security Council unanimously adopted a statement in the name of its president to condemn North Korea`s April 5 launch of a long-range rocket, Pyongyang vehemently rebuked the U.N. action, declaring that it would “never again take part in the six-party talks on its nuclear program and exert all efforts to bolster its nuclear deterrent for self-defense.”
 
Experts in South Korea and the United States said Pyongyang`s nuclear provocation was “anticipated,” adding that the reaction revealed North Korea`s nervousness and perplexity. It is quite obvious that the latest events are not happening along the wishes of Pyongyang. Although the North bragged that the rocket launch was a big success in putting a communications satellite in orbit, General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, cynically commented that no one would buy missiles from a country that failed three straight times in test-firing them.
 
When Pyongyang publicized on April 24 that it would put on trial two American journalists who had been detained for more than a month on charges of alleged espionage activities, Washington reacted coolly; it neither dispatched a special envoy to the North nor made a low-key proposal for negotiations with the North, as it had done in the past.
 
Moreover, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton omitted references to the North Korea issue altogether in her 10-page report to the House Foreign Affairs Committee, which dealt with foreign policy priorities in President Barack Obama`s administration. In replying to questions by committee members, the secretary resolutely said that the United States must be “strong, patient, persistent and not give in to the kind of back-and-forth and unpredictable behavior” of the North Korean regime. Her testimony underscored that Washington would no longer be dragged around by Pyongyang and would employ a strategy of “pressure” and “disregard” until the North returns to the table. For North Korea, these developments are straying from the direction it anticipated.
 
To reprocess spent fuel rods, the North has reportedly begun to clean up a radiation chemical laboratory at Yongbyon, which had been closed down for some time. Once the facility restarts operations to reprocess the remaining rods, Pyongyang can obtain some 7 kilograms of plutonium within three to four months. North Korea is believed to have about 30 kilograms of plutonium already on hand. Therefore, South Korea and the United States are not placing an inordinate amount of significance on how much more plutonium the North would get.
 
Under the prevailing circumstances, Pyongyang will likely conduct a second nuclear test in the latter half of this year, following up its first test in 2006. However, as demonstrated in the rocket launch, nuclear provocation would only aggravate North Korea`s isolation in the international society and exacerbate sanctions against it. Unlike in the case of rocket launch, China and Russia would find it difficult to side with the North. Secretary Clinton cautioned on April 25 that the United States, along with other members of the six-party talks, would continuously pressure Pyongyang to return to the talks and resume its commitment to denuclearization, adding that she expected to reopen dialogue with the North. The North Korean leadership must face the international reality that has become too harsh for it to enjoy playing a “nuclear card” and return to the arena for dialogue.
[ April 27, 2009 ]

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