THOUGHTS of THE TIMES
Time to engage North Korea
The current state of relations between South Korea and North Korea can be described as “mini-Cold War.” The stalemate has pushed the North Korean regime to extreme and even more belligerent behavior than just a few years ago. On March 6 Pyongyang fired four ballistic missiles that landed in Japanese waters. As a response to that threat South Korea continues its push for the deployment of THAAD. In China’s argument, the THAAD is a system with capabilities that do not just counter against the threat of North Korea’s missiles, but extends its functional reach to monitor and even strike deep into China’s territory.
The suggestion is to get out of the mold of a rigid framework set by the military stance. We need to look out of the region, find middle ground and engage North Korea, we urgently need a mediator. As I have already written earlier, the Central Asian state of Kazakhstan could be a candidate well-suited for the task. Its diplomatic posture as a peacemaker along with its non-permanent membership in the U.N. Security Council puts it in a very good position to mediate. Kazakhstan has already proven its goodwill and capacity to put all its abilities into practice.
For example, on Feb. 18 Kazakhstan pulled off something that until recently was unimaginable. It completed the second round of negotiations between the government forces, Syrian armed opposition, Russia and Turkey in its capital of Astana. Kazakhstan has opened the path to peace by facilitating conditions where the parties have managed to negotiate the supervisory mechanism for the truce.
The South Korean government must start in organizing and orchestrating diplomatic action, and not just simply rely on the other state’s calls for peace and proclamations that the only solution for the crisis is diplomacy. As it is in the Syrian case the solution won’t come easy. There certainly will be lags and setbacks. But, be it the Six-Party Talks, bilateral talks or any new format of negotiations, we desperately need to find that starting point, we need a host and a place for meetings. Kazakhstan has been able to do exactly just that.
It has become a motivator that led Syria, Russia, and Turkey to come to the negotiation table. The other benefit of it is an improvement in relations between the sides. Russia and Turkey, countries on the brink of major regional confrontation just a few months ago, are now reporting their relations are becoming “normal.”
From day to day the situation on the Korean Peninsula is getting worse. The fear is that with such saber-rattling we may hit a tipping point of no return when only a major military confrontation will be an exit strategy for all, and it will be a big mistake. We must not allow that to happen.