There is an interesting development in the Far East. North Korea, which along with Iraq and Iran is part of what President Bush labeled the \axis of evil,"" has entered the news. In the past month alone, North Korea has admitted to having a secret nuclear arms program and kidnapping several Japanese citizens in the late 1970s in order to steal their identities and give them to spies infiltrating Japan. There is an economic crisis that the Communist government has real trouble dealing with. And through all this, President Bush has maintained an approach of dealing with North Korea not through threats of military action, but through diplomacy.
North Korea has been something of an enigma to the United States for the past 50 years. One of the last countries ruled by a true Communist regime, it has been secretive with its policies and until recently hasn't reached out diplomatically to its capitalist neighbors Japan and South Korea'let alone to the United States halfway across the world. Yet now, as its historical ally, China, is slowly loosening its ties with North Korea as it attempts to modernize its own economy, North Korea has opened talks with nations that have traditionally been its enemies.
It truly is remarkable what a little old-fashioned diplomacy can do. We learned that after the second World War, when our two major enemies, Germany and Japan, became our two major trade partners. We learned that during the Cold War, when we carried on dialogue with the Soviet Union even in the face of a real threat of nuclear war. We learned that when President Nixon first tried to normalize relations with China.
Now, North Korea is willing to talk, just as our enemies have done in the past when they needed to do so. Said Selig G. Harrison, director of the National Security Program at the Center for International Policy, ""They are prepared to negotiate and end all nuclear activity and allow inspections.""
North Korea is in dire economic straits and is reaching out to Japan and the United States for help. Japanese foreign ministry spokesman Hatsuhisa Takashami said."" They are desperate to get another source of money."" It is entirely possible that, were it not for its economic depression, North Korea would stay isolated and shrouded in a cloud of mystery, continuing to develop its nuclear arsenal.
As it is, North Korea has posed a legitimate nuclear threat and it is quite possible that it would have used nuclear force against Japan or South Korea sometime in the near future had it not needed economic help. Yet President Bush and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi have maintained that this can be settled peacefully.
The situation in North Korea has shown that diplomacy can work, even with a totalitarian regime that has shown a willingness to break international nuclear treaties. Hard evidence tells that North Korea possessed nuclear weapons in clear violation of international law. It could still have a secret nuclear program were it not for its own economic situation forcing it to reach out for help. But we are willing to give them a chance to reconcile their transgressions.
President Bush has shown no consistency in his policy toward the ""axis of evil."" Will he use force or diplomacy? He needs to get his foreign policy straight, because it is seeming more and more like the United States is doing whatever Bush feels would be in his best interest.
In the meantime, North Korea has shown that, with enough pressure, any regime can and will negotiate. Just a year ago, North Korea was on the same level as Iraq; now the United States is taking opposite approaches in dealing with the two nations. Bush needs to straighten out his approach to foreign policy. In the meantime, North Korea has shown that even ""evil"" will come around if pressured enough.
