[Editorial] Abandoning Nuclear Weapons Comes First More Than Anything Else

What shall we do when we break our promise and the other party gets to know of it? Of course, we have to make an apology, and promise not to break it again. That is the common sense in a civilized society. In this respect, what North Korean Foreign Ministry announced yesterday was far from what the common sense and manners have taught us. We got really disappointed.

At the center of the crisis building up on the Korean Peninsula lies North Korea`s desertion of its promise to comply with, among other things, the 1994 arms control accord. Once it transpired that it has enriched uranium as part of its nuclear weapons program, it unwillingly acknowledged the existence of its nuclear program. That is why we have stressed over and over that North should first proclaim that it would discard its nuclear weapons program. That should come first to relieve the tension building up on the Korean Peninsula. On the contrary, North is demanding that US should make an official promise not to invade or attack it first. North further argues that without the promise, it could not cooperate to relieve the security concerns over the peninsula. North Korea is stretching the logic too thin. It`s like putting the cart before the horse.

North might feel threatened from the United States. But what North Koreans feel does not justify its development of nuclear weapons. North must have known that the concerns of the US have been triggered by the strong military power of North. North Korea has maintained the huge arsenal of conventional weapons, and has developed and exported weapons of mass destruction. It`s more than what is required for self-defense. If North is really serious about solving the issue through dialogue, it should at least show its sincerity by leaving open the possibility that it could reverse the order of its demands: first, resolution of the nuclear weapons issue; and, second, the promise not to attack on the part of US.

We should also pay attention to the change of North Korea`s attitude. At first, North Korea argued for the replacement of the Armed Truce with a peace accord. Then, it asserts that the United States should promise first not to attack it. It has become obvious that the intention of North that it would put South Korea aside, and talk only with the US in dealing with this matter. But, Kim Dae Jung administration has called for this isolation by and for itself. Even in the face of a nuclear problem which threatens and determines the future of our nation, the Kim administration has not even criticized North. All of this comes from Kim Dae Jung administration’s adherence to resolution only through dialogue.

The Kim administration should understand the situation, and tries to come up with a resolute agreement between South Korea, US and Japan at tomorrow`s summit. If it fails to show a determined position, it will be put on the sidetracks again like it was during the `94 nuclear crisis.