North Korea Bluffs and Blackmails

by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright March 31 2013
All Rights Reserved.                                         

        Pictured assiduously studying what looks like war plans with his generals looking on, 28-year-old North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un implemented his latest bluff and blackmail strategy, threatening war, missile strikes, invasions, all of which designed to win concessions.  Give Kim and his handlers credit for a masterful public relations stunt, designed to blackmail the West.  Learning well from his late father Kim Jong-Il, the new North Korean dictator threatened to close down the $2 billion joint economic development zone above the 38th parallel, designed to give North Korea a modicum of South Korea’s success that has transformed Seoul into one of Asia’s most prosperous economies.  “From this time on, the North-South relations will be entering the state of war and all issues raised between the North and the South will be handled accordingly,” said the official KCNA news agency.

             Putting North Korea’s missiles at high alert ready to attack U.S.-bases and South Korea, Kim did everything possible to push his PR message on the West.  Kim reacted swiftly to a U.S. Stealth Bomber flyover, training his missiles at U.S. and South Korean targets.  While no one really takes Kim’s latest move too seriously, the White House plays its cards close to the vest, not seduced by what could degenerate quickly into an instant PR war between Pyongyang and Washington.  Since China signed onto more severe U.N. Security Council Sanctions follow North Korea’s latest nuclear test Feb. 25, Kim’s been ratcheting up the gunboat diplomacy.  Unlike the old days when Kim’s grandfather Kim Il-Sung battled the U.S. to a standoff July 27, 1953, there’s no 1.35 million Chinese soldiers waiting to join North Korea’s recent battle with the U.S. or South Korea.

             Calling North Korea’s recent threats a “familiar pattern,” White House National Security spokesman Caitlin Hayden tried to reassure the press that there’s not much to be concerned about.  NATO Deputy Secretary Gen. Alexander Vershbow said he hoped “that this is more posturing than a prelude to any armed hostilities,” attesting to the growing consensus that Kim’s actions plays to his fragile political situation where he’s seeking acceptance as North Korea’s supreme military leader.  Taking over since his father’s death Dec. 17, 2011, the White House hoped that the 28-year-old would have more common sense.  Notorious for his penchant for American movies, Russian Beluga caviar and French Dom Perignon champagne, the young Kim has followed in his father’s eccentric footsteps.  While he doesn’t have his father’s bouffant hairdo, he’s every bit as eccentric.

             Russia, a once close ally with North Korea during the Cold War, asked all parties to tone down the belligerent rhetoric.  “We hope that all parties will exercise maximum responsibility and restraint and no-one will cross the point of no return,” Grigory Logivinov, a senior Russian Foreign Minstry official, told the Interfax News Agency.  Playing into North Korea’s clever PR game, Russia lends too much credibility to Pyongyang’s threats.  Lending any credibility to Kim’s threats automatically gives North Korea more clout in blackmailing the West.  Calling Kim’s bluff the White House has correctly recognized Kim’s political posturing, knowing full-well that the impoverished Asian nation has no resources to conduct an air or ground war against the U.S. or South Korea.  Since Russia knows that Kim’s bluffing to coerce concessions from the U.S. and South Korea, it shows complicity.

             Keeping open the Kaesong industrial zone, located within a few miles of the demilitarized zone, indicates that Kim has launched a new propaganda campaign for domestic and foreign consumption.  Knowing North Korea’s old game, Russia continues to help its old Stalinist ally.  “If the puppet traitor group continues to mention the Kaesong industrial zone is kept operating and damages our dignity, it will be mercilessly shut off and shut down,” said the KCNA news agency.  Canceling the July 27, 1953 armistice agreement, Kim hopes to raise anxieties in Seoul, living under North Korea’s threats for the last 60 years.  With a Gross Domestic Product rivaling some of the poorest African countries, North Korea stands as living proof of old communist system failures.  China and Russia have long moved ahead incorporating market-based principles into their economies.

             Rejecting the last round of U.N. sanctions, North Korea antagonized Beijing for backing tough new economic consequences.  Since the U.S. and South Korea began routine yearly joint military exercises Feb. 25, Pyongyang has flexed its muscles, threatening nuclear war against the U.S. and South Korea.  Unlike three years ago when the North Korea torpedoed a South Korean Patrol Boat March 26, 2010 killing 46 sailors, the U.S. and South Korean would respond now with devastating force.  Gone are the days when Seoul feared damage to its infrastructure from a North Korean attack.  When Pyongyang shelled a South Korean Island Nov. 23, 2010, that was the last and final incident tolerated without retaliation.  Moscow, Beijing and Washington know that the next incident will be met with military action.  Kim has no choice but to back down or face the consequences.

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news.  He's editor of OnlineColumnist.com.and author of Dodging the Bullet and Operation Charisma.