Diplomacy may still create miracles in NK
Earlier this month, the US government has announced yet another set of sanctions against North Korea. This time the target was North Korean leader Kim Jongun himself. The goal of these sanctions is to restrain officials in power that are abusing human rights, and block their access to the global financial system.
The purpose and the effectiveness of these sanctions are still arguable. Seemingly straightforward, these sanctions are far cry from reality. The people who are getting sanctioned are ready to employ intricate schemes to hide their identities and money, and the likelihood of effectively punishing them is very low.
Resolving the issue once and for all is possible only through diplomatic negotiations. So far the US and especially South Korea were relying on sanctions as a main tool in the hope that they would break Pyongyang’s spirit. But engagement may prove a more useful tool.
Enter Kazakhstan, a 26- yearold Central Asian country that inherited over 1,400 nuclear warheads, over 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles, and accompanying machinery and staff after the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Soon after its creation, Kazakhstan, following intensive negotiations, decided to give up all its nuclear arsenal. It then went even further – it began to promote denuclearization first regionally and then globally. It even earned an image of a peacemaker thanks to the integration of nuclearfree ideas into its foreign policy along with the provision of mediation in international military conflicts.
In 1998, in the wake of claims that North Korea was developing nuclear weapons at secret sites, Kazakhstan politely asked Pyongyang to close its diplomatic mission in Almaty.
From that year Kazakh- stan slowly began to distance itself from North Korea as the latter’s actions have become more hostile and unpredictable.
But Kazakhstan is not the only country that has denuclearized or turned away from the path of developing nuclear weapons. The importance of diplomacy in Iran’s case is probably the most demonstrative one.
It took years of very intensive negotiations on multiple levels to achieve positive results. With the Iranian ambition to acquire nuclear weapons, even threats were made by negotiating parties.
However, persistence paid off. After concluding the agreement, now, we have a working process that is leading Iran into a new era of acceptance into the international community as an equal partner.
Even Cuba, North Korea’s closest partner in the Caribbean, is slowly opening up. Diplomacy has led the country to the restoration of ties with the US and is bringing the country out of isolation.
But don’t be fooled into thinking this is easy. Diplomacy isn’t an easy tool to use. It requires skill, practice, effort
and time. And that is what we need to look for. Highly- skilled analysts, brilliant diplomats, thirdparty mediation, appeasement, active bilateral engagement, participation in international forums and conferences; all of these and more will eventually be needed to bring North Korea to the negotiating table.
The cases mentioned above indicate that countries do change. Nations may change attitudes and even their belief systems. So may North Korea. With a proper diplomatic approach North Korea will respond.
So far North Korea seems unapproachable and impregnable. But if we find a proper approach, a good word, a wellchosen note that will strike the proper chord and slowly open the door to communication with the regime, we will succeed.