While most students on the Hill rightfully place their focus on the enduring U.S. involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq — and the danger that terror camps and violent extremists pose there — when contemplating the regional and global threats that the United States faces, the dilemma posed by North Korea's nuclear threat often goes overlooked.
News outlets had reported on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea's apparent recent offensive posturing toward the Republic of Korea in the south, including an announcement late last month that Pyongyang was abolishing its current peace agreements with Seoul. Coupled with new developments that North Korea appeared to be reactivating a missile site that had been used for Taepodong-2 missiles — which have the potential to strike Alaska — it's evident that there's a legitimate cause for concern, both on the Korean peninsula and here at home.
Once more, all of this is set against the backdrop of stalled six-party negotiations among the Americans, South Koreans, Chinese, Japanese and Russians with Pyongyang over the status of its denuclearization, with North Korea balking at the prospect of full transparency during the dismantling of its nuclear program. Still, despite such stubbornness bordering on bellicosity, there remains room for progress and conciliation.
Over the weekend Stephen Bosworth, dean of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and former U.S. ambassador to South Korea from 1997-2000, traveled with a delegation of academics to visit North Korean officials. After attending meetings there, Bosworth spoke with undertones of hope when discussing the future of nuclear negotiation on the peninsula.
While the rhetoric of late may have been belligerent, officials indicated to Bosworth, who The Associated Press reported last night is in line to assume the position of State Department special envoy to North Korea, that there is a tangible desire in Pyongyang to end the delay in talks and reach an enduring deal — talks that would ultimately fulfill the pledge to completely denuclearize in exchange for energy aid. Those same officials also implied that the recent arrival of President Barack Obama to the Oval Office would further encourage openness on the volatile issue.
Bosworth's post-meeting remarks, taken alongside his experience as a former ambassador and the potential of him accepting a diplomatic appointment to North Korea, underscore two points. The first is that despite the focus of media reports of the recent continuous saber-rattling emanating from Pyongyang, there are elements there who foresee stability coming to that troubled part of the world.
The second point is that though there has traditionally been pessimism attached to reaching lasting accords with the ruling regime in North Korea, the three-week-old Obama administration might have the credibility to bring North Korea back to the table and, perhaps, conclude negotiations.
With experienced people like Bosworth at the helm working for Obama's foreign policy apparatus, there is definite potential for much-improved relations between the United States and North Korea, a difficult country for even the most qualified diplomats to fully understand.
