Rather than threats, peninsula needs talks
The vicious circle at work on the Korean Peninsula, whereby each side blames the other for being provocative while speaking and acting provocatively, is dangerous. Not just because the spiral is proving hard to break, but because the saber-rattling and verbal sparring are pushing it to ever greater extremes.
Washington has told Pyongyang that the largest-ever war drills being conducted by the United States and the Republic of Korea are not meant to provoke the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. Yet the unprecedented deployment of US strategic weapons goes far beyond a regular show of muscle, and the joint exercises reportedly include simulated surgical strikes on selected targets in the DPRK.
In return, an irate Pyongyang keeps raising the pitch of its threats. After initially vowing to launch "preemptive attacks", it is now threatening nuclear annihilation of Seoul and Washington D.C.
