The Korean Crisis: Spinning Out Of Control?

From: Eurasia

The danger posed by the increasing hostile situation on the Korean peninsula cannot be understated. There is a frightening possibility that the situation could spin out of control, leading to a deadly regional conflict in one of the most densely populated parts of the world. North Korea has embarked on a near-daily onslaught of belligerent threats, some of which include its invalidation of the 1953-armistice agreement that ended the Korean War, threats to attack the United States with nuclear weapons, and threats to occupy South Korea. Military analysts say that North Korea is at least several years from building a nuclear warhead or a missile capable of reaching the US mainland.

Pyongyang’s rhetoric matches their familiar brand of psychological warfare tactics aimed at driving up the tensions with Seoul and Washington with destruction, only to be rewarded with food aid and concessions when it tones things down. There is no doubt that if the Kim regime oversteps in its approach, there could be severe repercussions for civilians in South Korea and Japan, both in range of North Korea’s rockets.

The United States recently used two nuclear-capable B-2 stealth bombers and F-22 stealth fighter jets for the first time in its annual military drills with South Korea forces. The International Movement for a Just World believes that the tactics taken by the Obama administration serve to raise antagonisms on the Korean peninsula, which in fact legitimizes Pyongyang’s rhetoric of the US threatening the North with nuclear war. JUST unequivocally condemns the proliferation of force by any side and calls on all parties to exercise maximum restraint in the face of provocations. JUST supports a dialogue-based approach that will lead to de-escalation of tensions on the Korean peninsula and calls on South Korea to engage in meaningful dialogue with Pyongyang aimed at scaling back provocation displays of force and reestablishing greater inter-Korean economic cooperation. It is of maximum importance that levelheaded diplomacy prevails and needlessly confrontational displays of military muscle are suspended.