by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright June 12, 2009
All Rights Reserved.

            Threatening to interdict contraband heading to North Korea, President Barack Obama upped the ante in a high stakes game of chicken with the world’s last remaining Stalinist regime.  North Korea’s state agency threatened June 8 that further U.N. sanctions would be regarded as “an act of war” and met with appropriate defensive countermeasures, including ending the Korean War armistice signed July 27, 1953.   Ignoring the threats, the U.N. Security Council voted, with full support of Russia and China, to expand an arms embargo and authorize searches of ships suspected of containing war materiel.  U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Susan Rice said U.S. officials would seek permission to board and inspect ships, though the U.N. sanctions did not authorize force should ships refuse to cooperate.  Rice indicated that the U.S. would work to coordinate inspections with vessels’ home nations.

            North Korea finds itself in the middle of succession process, where the ailing 68-year-old Kim Jong-Il designated his 26-year-old youngest son Jong Un to be his replacement.  Western powers get sketchy information about Jong-Il’s condition, rumored incapacitated by a stroke in 2008.  Six-party talks with the United States, Great Britain, China, Russia, Japan and South Korea were suspended August 26, 2008, prompting the secretive regime to restart its Yongbyon heavy water plutonium reactor.  Eight months later, Pyongyang detonated an A-bomb May 25 with a blast-yield equivalent to Little Boy, the 13-18 kiloton U.S. bomb that killed 140,000 civilians at Hiroshima Aug. 6, 1945.  North Korea has recently threatened using nuclear weapons on South Korea in retaliation for more U.N. sanctions.  Kim’s regime faces more economic sanctions and hardship.

            Two broadcast journalists, Laura Lin and Euna Lee working for former U.S. Vice President Al Gore’s Current TV, were sentenced June 9 in North Korea to 12 years at hard labor for trespassing into North Korean territory.  Recent U.N. sanctions, in response to North Korea’s underground nuclear test, won’t help the fate of Lin and Lee, now part of Kim Jong-Il’s extortion plans, seeking cash, food and other concesions in exchange for ending his nuclear program.  “There’s reason to believe they may respond in an irresponsible fashion to this [new U.N. sanctions],” said Rice, hoping the new sanctions will crimp North Korea’s ability to finance A-bombs and ballistic missile technology.  U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates rejected North Korea’s new demand, insisting the U.S. would “not pay for the same horse twice,” meaning coughing up more concessions.

            U.S. officials hope that Iranian officials pay attention to the Security Council’s new sanctions.  Hot-headed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad finds himself in the middle, ironically, of a tough reelection fight, not paying much attention to developments at the U.N.  Like North Korea, the U.S. wants Iran to give up its uranium enrichment program before develops a full-blown A-bomb-making venture.  Iran has far more contacts to the outside world, being the world’s 4th largest petroleum exporting country.  North Korea, on the other hand, has no mineral wealth to speak of and little opportunity generating serious capital reserves.  Saying North Korea’s nuclear test and missile launches “pose a grave threat to peace and security of the world and I strongly condemn their reckless action,” said Presdient Barack Obama, signaling he won’t give in to Kim’s blackmail.

            Despite support from Russia and China, North Korea will blame the U.S. and South Korea for turning the screws.  Now that Obama has taken a stand, he must be prepared to defend South Korea.  North Korea has threatened the South with harsh consequences, including ending the 58-year-old armistice that keeps the North above the 44th parallel.  Boasting a million-plus-man army and nuclear weapons, Kim has become the new bully in northeast Asia.  Voting in new sanctions opens the door for Kim to act  more desperately.  With the U.S. mired in Iraq and Afghanistan, battling Kim or defending South Korea would drain U.S. global influence and resources.  Kim knows that the U.N. has no margin to tolerate a new military adventure.  It’s doubtful that Russia or China would contribute anything to stop North Korea’s aggression in the Korean Peninsula or elsewhere.

            Rolling the dice, Obama knows he must live with the consequences of containing North Korea’s growing nuclear and missile program.  Since resources are already stretched thin, it’s doubtful the U.S. could open up a new front without jeopardizing its global position.  “The message of this resolution is clear:  North Korea’s behavior is unacceptable to the international community and the international community is determined to respond,” said U.S. Deputy Ambassador Rosemary DiCarlo, raising stakes for U.S. commitments.  Should North Korean cross the 44th parallel or attack any U.S. ally or interests, the U.S. would be forced to defend itself.  If the Korean War taught the U.S. anything, it’s there’s limits to American power.  Before Obama gets in over his head, he should work diplomatically with Russia and China to pull the world back from the brink.

 About the Author

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

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