US needs to curb moral arrogance over NK
The UN Security Council unanimously imposed new and tougher sanctions on North Korea on Saturday. The resolution bans all exports of North Korean coal, iron, iron ore, lead, lead ore and seafood. The country is also banned from increasing the number of workers it sends overseas. The sanctions could slash by a third North Korea’s $ 3 billion annual export revenue, signifi cantly cutting the country’s source of foreign currency. The country’s nuclear and missile activities have cost it dearly.
If some Americans continue to believe the nuclear and missile activities of North Korea are due to the lack of external pressure, they’re absurd.
Neither China nor Russia likes North Korea to develop nuclear weapons and missiles, but they diff er on the causes and how to resolve the issue from the US. Since solving the North Korean nuclear issue requires the eff orts of all parties concerned, Washington, Beijing and Moscow should respect each other, instead of Washington dominating the whole process.
US President Donald Trump has expressed his gratitude to China and Russia for cooperating on the new UN Security Council resolution. As long as China and Russia faithfully implement the resolutions, Washington should acknowledge their eff orts. If Washington continues to make a fuss, it is looking for an alibi for its inaction to ease tensions in the Korean Peninsula.
US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley said on Saturday: “We have tried to say multiple times that all options are on the table.” It seems diffi cult to make the Americans realize that without addressing the security concerns of Pyongyang, imposing sanctions on it will never solve the nuclear issue.
North Korea owns nuclear weapons and tested intercontinental ballistic missiles ( ICBMs), which severely violate UN Security Council resolutions. But the US only despises Pyongyang’s mistake of developing nuclear weapons and missiles but does not care about what prompted Pyongyang to do so, Pyongyang will continue its nuclear and missile activities despite punishing sanctions. It will get closer to owning ICBMs that could strike US soil.
Western opinion often has an unwarranted moral superiority over the non- Western world. The West should be reminded to exercise restraint. If it believes it is only North Korea rather than the US and South Korea as well to blame for the nuclear issue, this illfi tting mindset will not help solve the crisis. South Korea has not played a constructive role in solving its northern neighbor’s nuclear issue, as shown by its rash and foolish decision to deploy the THAAD anti- missile system on its soil.
Seoul does not care about China’s feelings, and it does not bother considering Pyongyang’s concerns in helping the US fl ex its muscles in the Korean Peninsula. There is no simple solution to the complicated North Korean nuclear issue. Washington should seriously consider the “dual suspension” and “dual track” approaches China has proposed. The US should aim for peace and co- existence rather than geopolitical dominance.