Michael Mazza’s theory on North Korea

The U.S. ended the Cold War after almost half a century by leading the Soviet Union to collapse in 1990. Zbigniew Brzezinski, who served as national security adviser to U.S. President Jimmy Carter, used military and diplomatic strategies in the international arena to beat the Soviets. His book "The Grand Chessboard" published after his retirement was a primer on world strategy for the younger generation. In the book`s preface, he dedicated the book to students who will shape the world in the future.

Michael Mazza, a research assistant at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, gave a lecture Wednesday at a seminar in Seoul on the security situation on the Korean Peninsula. He is part of the generation who learned Brzezinski’s world strategy. Earning his bachelor`s at Cornell University and a master’s at Johns Hopkins University, Mazza, 28, urged an audience of his parents’ generation to use a coercive military strategy over the short term to end North Korea’s armed provocations. He said internal division in the North should be induced over the long term to seek reunification of the peninsula. South Korea must also convince China that a reunified peninsula will greatly benefit the Chinese economy, he added.

The U.S. has waged the most wars in the world and U.S. hegemony is derived from its war experience. Aware of the source of power, Mazza said South Korea should seek hegemony on the peninsula to achieve reunification but should not hesitate to use military power to achieve this goal. He apparently meant that Seoul should boldly punish Pyongyang in the event of provocations. This comment is apparently part of Mazza`s bid to join the U.S. administration through playing a grand chess game as Brzezinski taught.

North Korea has proposed high-level inter-Korean military talks on the North`s expression of its positions on the sinking of the Cheonan warship and the artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island. At the core of Korean Peninsula issues is the North’s nuclear development, however. Pyongyang rejected a proposal by Seoul’s Unification Ministry to hold separate talks on the North`s nuclear program. It is questionable if the two Koreas can hold the proposed military talks, if not the preliminary negotiations to prepare for the main meeting. The proposed talks could also put the two Koreas on a new collision course. Many South Korean youths who have sufficient ambition should play a grand chess game over the North`s nuclear program and reunification.

Editorial Writer Lee Jeong-hoon (hoon@donga.com)