North Korea’s offer of a dialogue is unlikely to elicit a positive response from South Korea which instead is militarily drawing closer to Japan to enhance deterrence.
Soon after naming the North Korean regime as its “enemy”, South Korea has, quite abruptly, invoked the desirability of reverting to the Six-Party Talks.
Kan’s statement about sending the SDF to the Korean peninsula to rescue Japanese citizens and people of Japanese origin in the event of an emergency has raised the spectre of a possible revival of Japanese militarism.
Both the revelation of a highly refined capacity for uranium enrichment and the shelling of South Korean military positions amply demonstrate Pyongyang’s preparedness to push the crisis to the extremes.
In the latest game of one-upmanship, North Korea has up the ante by announcing to the world that there is no stopping its nuclear development programme.
China’s objection to the early release of a UN report on North Korea’s compliance with UN sanctions stemmed from its misplaced confidence in international diplomacy.
The power transition in North Korea is bound to produce more political intrigue in the coming months, with the junior Kim concentrating more on military modernization and nuclear programme to strengthen his position.
