U.S. pushes to isolate North Korea
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — When President Donald Trump’s U.N. ambassador recently urged the world to sever diplomatic ties with North Korea, she was sketchy on the details: Should all embassies close? How about those providing the U.S. intelligence from the largely inscrutable country? And what of Sweden, which helps with imprisoned Americans?
Nikki Haley’s recent call to action underscores the challenge for the United States as it tries to advance a nonmilitary strategy for resolving the nuclear standoff with North Korea. Isolating the reclusive, totalitarian state has been a central component of the U.S. plan, even though Washington says it remains open to talks.
Like international economic penalties, the Trump administration believes the diplomatic isolation serves two purposes.
It’s designed to punish North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for developing an atomic arsenal of bombs and intercontinental missiles thatpotentially could deliver nuclear warheads anywhere in the United States. U.S. officials also contend that freezing out North Korea could drive Mr. Kim’s government to seek negotiations.
“We do know they care a lot about their international reputation,” said Mark Tokola, a former No. 2 at the U.S. Embassy in South Korea.
Mr. Trump’s team has chalked up some successes in narrowing the North’s diplomatic reach. Mexico, Peru, Italy, Spain, and Kuwait have expelled North Korean ambassadors from their countries. Ms. Haley said Portugal and the United Arab Emirates have suspended diplomatic relations. Others have cut trade and security ties.
But North Korea isn’t and won’t be completely isolated.
Last month, China, whose once-close relationship with North Korea has been strained by its adoption of tough U.N. sanctions, sent its highest level envoy to Pyongyang in two years. North Korea also recently welcomed a Russian parliamentary delegation, in a sign of increasing contacts between the former Cold War partners. And the North just hosted the most senior U.N. official to visit in years: Jeffrey Feltman, the undersecretary-general for political affairs.
Even before he departed, experts played down expectations that Mr. Feltman, formerly a senior American diplomat, could offer a breakthrough as the standoff over the North’s nuclear weapons threatens to spiral into war. Mr. Feltman carried no message from Washington, State Department spokesman Heather Nauert said.
Ms. Haley called all governments to sever ties. Other U.S. officials say the emphasis is on getting North Korean diplomats expelled from overseas postings, not on closing foreign embassies in Pyongyang.
According to research by the Washington-based EastWest Center and the National Committee on North Korea, North Korea maintains diplomatic relations with 167 countries. It has embassies in 47 foreign capitals. Twenty-four countries have embassies in Pyongyang, and those include American rivals and friends.