Very carefully

That’s how to deal with the devil

THE WORLDLY wise, also known as cynics, long have claimed that nothing North Korea’s Kim Jong Un might do would surprise them. Yet the usually bellicose Comrade Kim now has raised the possiblity that he might do the most surprising thing of all: make peace.

According to a report out of the official North Korean news agency, “from April 21, North Korea will stop nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles.” Both Moon Jae-in, the president of South Korea, and our own, the usually bellicose Donald Trump, have been saying that North Korea is willing to accept the idea of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula.

As usual, the devil lies in the details of any peace plan, beginning with the very definition of “denuclearization.” This country is not about to deny the 28,000 troops Washington still has positioned in South Korea, not to mention their supporting ranks in Japan and on Guam, a nuclear umbrella. Nor should it. Peace, yes, but not at any price.

All the contending parties on the Korean peninsula are sounding far less contentious. And there is now concrete evidence of their good intentions, including a new hotline between Seoul and Pyongyang. The party line clearly has changed as North Korea shows every sign of moving its national emphasis from war to peace. At last all the pressure brought to bear on that once isolated fortress of a country is beginning to pay dividends. What a nice surprise to report that the North Koreans are shifting from a wartime to a peacetime basis for their long deprived economy.

President Trump is saying that now is the time to fish or cut bait, no two ways about it. “I think we’re going to be successful,” he tweeted after it became public knowledge that the director of this country’s Central Intelligence Agency—Mike Pompeo—had met with Kim Jong Un’s people around a conference table instead of deploying troops against one another on a battlefield. And when Comrade Kim crossed the line of demarcation that has split the Korean peninsula since the truce that ended the Korean War, he became the first leader of North Korea to do so in decades. Where there’s a will to make peace, resourceful leaders can surely find a way.

But skeptics we will always have with us. To quote Benjamin Silberstein, whose area of specialization at the University of Pennsylvania is North Korea, “There is nothing in North Korea’s statement that signals a willingness to give up their nukes.” Could it be that he just hasn’t looked hard enough? There is a certain comfort in holding on to one’s fixed ideas in an ever-changing world. Our advice to Mr. Silberstein: Don’t overlook peaceful overtures. They could be the beginning of a beautiful relationship even if they fall short of friendship. Why not be a force for peace instead of against it?

IF THE JOURNEY to war can be fast and furious, the long march to peace can be a step-by-step process. And the United States, along with both Koreas, may now have taken the first steps backward from a nuclear holocaust. It costs no more to be an optimist than a pessimist—so long as America and her allies hold tight to the guardrails and proceed with caution. Just as all the West should tread softly and carry a big stick—as a tough president who proved a peacemaker once said.

Conflicting councils abound now as they did in the old Rough Rider’s day. But let our descendants know that in the hour of decision, this country chose to be an advocate of peace rather than war.

To quote Daryl Kimball, who directs the Arms Control Association in Washington: “North Korea’s pledge to close down its nuclear weapons testing site is a very significant pledge toward denuclearization. The U.S. and others should solidify this by securing North Korean signature and ratification of the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, along with a confidence-building visit by the Comprehensive Test Ban [Treaty] Organization.”

If the literary style is telegraphic rather than epistolary, words about hope and peace are still encouraging. So let’s hold on to hope and pray that all this seemingly good news can be more than a mirage. In any case, it’s worth pursuing even while keeping our ammunition dry and weapons at the ready.