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Welcome surprise

(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-06 07:47

The tense situation on the Korean Peninsula took a turn for the better with Bill Clinton's unannounced visit to Pyongyang on Tuesday.

The warm exchanges between the former US president and the top leadership of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in a "cordial atmosphere", as well as the release of two American women journalists detained since March, point to not only a breakthrough in bilateral relations, but also a halt to heightened tensions caused by Pyongyang's successive provocative acts ranging from a nuclear test to the firing of a barrage of missiles.

This development should be a welcome sign to nations involved in the Six-Party Talks. The visit, to a large extent, has made any eruption of military conflict as a result of miscalculation unlikely.

Now, world attention would focus on the "positive things that could flow" from the freeing of the two US citizens.

The DPRK may wish to see the Clinton visit leading to direct talks between Pyongyang and Washington for resolving the Korean Peninsula nuclear crisis. It has long been the DPRK's strategy to seek, through direct talks, to end Washington's hostility and establish normal diplomatic relations.

But uncertainty remains as to how far this DPRK-US rapport could go and what concrete results it would facilitate.

Washington has insisted that the forum for talks with Pyongyang must be the six-nation platform, initiated by China to find a solution to the Korean nuclear issue. So far there is nothing to indicate that Washington would abandon that platform in favor of two-nation talks.

The Barack Obama administration is likely to face pressure from hardliners in Congress calling for tough measures against the DPRK as a proliferation threat.

China has always tried to facilitate direct DPRK-US talks within the six-nation framework to resolve the nuclear crisis. It has made it clear that any move that contributes to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula would have its support. Hence, Beijing would like to see that the contact between Washington and Pyongyang bears fruit.

The DPRK is among the very few countries on the list of the US' nuclear strike target. Its concern for national survival and security are legitimate and justifiable, and should be addressed properly by the international community.

But Pyongyang should understand that possession of nuclear weapons is against the trend of the time, and such weapons would not make it more secure. Instead, it would drain the country's limited resources and harm the economy. The country would face deeper isolation if it persisted with such acts as nuclear and missile tests.

The US has made it clear on several occasions that it has no intention of invading the DPRK. Though it is still too early to talk about the signing of a peace treaty to replace an armistice treaty with Pyongyang, Washington should show its sincerity in wanting to work towards that direction.

(China Daily 08/06/2009 page8)