[Editorial] U.S. and Japanese pressure following the U.N. resolution

Ever since the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved its resolution on North Korea, the nations involved in the six-party process are actively deciding what to do next. They all say they want the talks to resume and to resolve the issue of North Korean missiles and nuclear development peacefully and diplomatically. There is, however, an increasing tendency to talk about strength and pressure instead of dialogue, largely on the part of the U.S. and Japan. North Korea’s announcement that it will halt inter-Korean separated family reunions is something that relates to North-South relations, but it could have a negative influence on the whole effort to improve the situation.

The most prominent activity is being done by the U.S. Treasury Department, which oversees American financial measures against Pyongyang. In the course of meeting with high-ranking government officials July 16-18, U.S. Treasury Department undersecretary Stuart Levey made it clear the U.S. intends to reinstate economic sanctions that it removed in 2001. It is an attitude that says stronger measures are just a matter of course now that the Security Council has passed this latest resolution on North Korea. One of the characteristics of financial sanctions is that any money entering North Korea can be taken issue with, since the money itself does not bear tags identifying what it is supposed to be used for. Indeed, some American hardliners are questioning funds paid by South Korean companies to North Korean workers at the Gaeseong (Kaesong) industrial park and fees paid for tours of Mount Geumgang (Kumgang).

The U.S. is reportedly preparing to make its Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI) stronger. The PSI is a means to interdict ships suspected of carrying materials related to missiles and weapons of mass destruction. It is also making preparations that include the Container Security Initiative (CSI), which would involve inspecting North Korean freight containers. Japan, which was quick to initiate sanctions following North Korea’s missile launch, is already preparing to seek additional measures.

These measures appearing all at once, as if those behind them had been just waiting for the missile launch, will only make the situation worse. Launching missiles is by itself a provocation, but in this case it was also a North Korean style of tactical choice, one that seeks to give the North an advantageous position in negotiations. That being the case, the right thing to do would be to create conditions that encourage North Korea to come back to the six-party talks instead of trying to push it down a dead end with indiscriminate sanctions. These hard-line pushes by the U.S. and Japan are inappropriate for both their method and timing.

What is needed right now instead of short-term pressure is policy towards North Korea that is effective by giving the North something it cannot help but accept. If necessary, there should be bilateral dialogue between the U.S. and North Korea and high-level contact between the North and South. Talk about holding "five-party talks" without North Korea is unadvisable because it could hurt the momentum behind restarting the six-party talks. The government needs to exercise its wisdom in finding ways to reduce the mutual distrust between the U.S. and North Korea.