Should the US engage in two-party discussions with North Korea?

No

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by Roberto Alvarez-Galloso

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I have finished reading the BBC Article about North Korea test firing another missile in the morning of the 7th of June 2007. This comes after another missile test a few weeks back in which the missile fell in the East Sea [according to Korea] or the Sea of Japan [according to Japan]. It appears that the talks between the two Koreas, USA, Russia, China, and Japan have not produced anything significant. The following is what each nation wants.

North Korea since the end of the Cold War has been isolated, more so since Japan and USA have been going after their businesses in Tokyo and other areas of the world. North Korea's Kim Jong Il wants to maintain North Korea as it is. He is afraid that his regime will fall. Kim Jong Il [in his speeches broadcast on the Voice of Korea] has talked about a Jonestown Type Massacre [Guyana 1978] if his regime falls.
Kim Jong Il has also asked for direct talks with the USA instead of the Six Party Talks offered by China, Japan, Russia, and South Korea. Kim Jong Il also has a bank account in Macau which was frozen by the USA and it is still an ongoing battle in the financial areas.

In fact, according to the Christian Newspaper "Voice of Martyrs" he has increased the persecutions of Christians and "other undesirables". North Korea has also courted other businesses such as Fiat [which built a car factory in North Korea] and a British Law Firm called Hay, Kalb, and Associates [www.haykalb.com] into opening up shop in Pyongyang. North Korea has businesses in Dandong, China and the border region between Russia and North Korea.

Attempts to contact these entities by E Mail, and Telephone with regards to North Korea have been fruitless. Attempts to contact the Swedish Embassy in Pyongyang via the same methods were fruitless as well. This is not surprising.

For Visiting Dignitaries, North Korea even opened a Catholic Church, Protestant Church, and Orthodox Church although Foreign Dignitaries have compared the chorus of each church and they are the same chorus taken from a list of professional singers.

There has been North Koreans escaping to South Korea via China, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand. There have been episodes of North Koreans escaping from North Korea and trying to find refuge in South Korean Embassies or in Foreign Schools in Beijing hoping to be transferred to South Korea.

North Korean Leader or Dictator Kim Jong Il and his elite have mixed Communism with a Korean Variant called Juche and has made it an official religion. Visitors to North Korea must first pay their respects by bowing down to the statue of Kim Jong Il and bestow a wreath after paying the tour guides.

Every day starts in North Korea with the sound of a large whistle at 7:00AM [Wake Up], 12:00PM [Lunch or Break], and 7:00PM [Sleep]. It is a grueling experience especially having to bow down to photos and statues of Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong Il at every turn. Pyongyang at night has a limited night life with the lights going out at 8:00PM [it reminds me of Akron Ohio in the 1970's].

South Korea is afraid of the North Korean Nuclear Tests and does not want to be seen provoking North Korea into a Korean War which can be fought with Nuclear Weapons. South Korea is also afraid that the fall of the Communist Regime in North Korea could produce an influx of North Koreans streaming across the Demilitarization Zone into South Korea.

South Korea had a Sunshine Policy of Dialogue with North Korea hoping for a gradual fall. According to the Sunshine Policy, when the gradual fall occurs, North Korea would be at par with South Korea. Yet there are a growing number of South Koreans who are losing patience with this Sunshine Policy because of Kim Jong Il's Temper Tantrums. Many South Koreans with the economic means to do so have left for Europe, Australia, and North America.

China has been an ally of North Korea since 1949. North Korea and China at that time signed a Friendship Treaty which allows both countries to come to the aid of each other. The Treaty also allowed China to intervene in North Korea in case the Pyongyang Regime were to fall. China does return any North Korean Refugees it receives to North Korea [another clause in the Friendship Treaty]. China does not want to exert too much pressure because it is also afraid of a collapse of the Communist Regime in North Korea.

China is concerned that the Communist Regime Collapse in North Korea could lead to anarchy in North Korea or a reunification with US Troops stationed on the border between Korea and China. China is also concerned about the number of North Koreans who would flee to China in case of such a collapse. Their position has been one of teaching North Korea the basics of Special Economic Zones and Special Autonomous Regions [like the ones being constructed in North Korea along the border with Russia and China].

Japan is angry at North Korea over the kidnapping of Japanese National by North Korean Spies in Japanese Beaches in the 1970s. Japan has closed almost all of the businesses operated by the North Korean Regime. It has also closed businesses where North Koreans in Japan [or regime supporters] could send money to North Korea [all of this according to NHK World/Radio Japan].

Russia was another supporter of North Korea during the Cold War. [It could be said that North Korea and Vietnam were the few communist countries under the influence of Russia [USSR] and China. North Korea was also a meeting place for any gradual rapprochement between Russia and China].

Russia has warned Kim Jong Il many times on the issue of Nuclear Weapons. [Kim Jong Il once visited Russia using the Train Service from Pyongyang to Moscow since Kim Jong Il is not keen on airplanes]. Russia [like China and South Korea] are worried that a collapse of the Communist Regime in North Korea could lead to anarchy, presence of US Troops on the Russia/Korea Border, and an influx of refugees into Russia.

USA [Republican/Democrat ic Elite] had an opportunity to resolve the North Korean Issue with the Korean War and lost it. Many People served in the Korea Theater only to see their goals plastered by the Republican/Democrati c/Communist Elite of the Cold War.

Now this Republican/Democrati c Elite wants North Korea to participate in Six Party Talks instead of talking directly with Pyongyang.

The Republicans/Democrat s wanted a six party talk instead of direct talks with Pyongyang taking into accounts problems at home. Everybody's talking and making promises. The only country that has stated that it does not trust North Korea to keep its promises is Japan. Japan has proved itself right in this debacle.

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