The CBC is reporting today that North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesmen are calling for a formal Peace Treaty with the United States to replace the Armistice agreement that ended the Korean War.
I’m not sure of the details of how the Korean War ended… I was under the impression that it was actually one of the first UN mandated interventions and the Armistice was signed between the Koreans, US and UN. But I could be wrong there.
At any rate, it seems that the Koreans are opening doors to resolve the issues of the Nuclear Peninsula. I think diplomats need to jump at this chance to move the Korean peninsula towards a lasting peace treaty. While the North Koreans have proven themselves to be less than predictable, having a signed peace treaty could act as nice leverage to keep the North from pursuing a more aggressive stance.
The DMZ between the Koreans is currently one of the most heavily armed zones in the world… and both Seoul and Pyongyang have major bullseyes painted on them. A peace treaty could be the first step in standing down some of those millions of men. It would also give the US an out to reposition the thousands of troops (2 divisions I think?) currently in and around the Korean peninsula and send them to more pressing engagements in Afghanistan and Iraq.
And heck… if the North Koreans are true to their word, and with a Peace Treaty and resumption of talks, they agree to totally disarm and dismantle their nuclear program than we would be fools to oppose it.
Yes, what’s not to like with a peace treaty with N Korea? No brainer IMO however, every week it’s a new position with those manic depressives or I should say “that” manic depressive, Kim Jung Il. What a maroon. It’s a little difficult to get excited about this, the latest proposal that has come to be a weekly event, it seems.
The Korean War, 1950-1953, ended in a stalemate, cease fire establishing the demilitarized zone with no peace treaty ever signed. It’s long overdue, to say the least. However, how can you put credence to any proposal of Kim’s at this point, considerering the day to day flakiness of his regime. We are dealing with the equivilent of a petulant 7 year old.
I forgot to add, that the US is already in the midst of switching troops from S Korea to Iraq. My friends son who has been in Korea with the Army is soon to be sent to Iraq. He was supposed to stay in Korea for 18 months but is leaving 6 months early. The linked article explains the ongoing change.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/world/20031124-124422-7024r.htm
My friend’s son who has been in Korea with the Army is soon to be sent to Iraq. He was supposed to stay in Korea for 18 months but is leaving 6 months early.
The real question here is whether any agreement would open the border between North and South Korea. I don’t think a treaty would improve the security situation but I don’t really see how it would make it any worse either if we still maintain a trip-wire force there. However, an agreement that leads to greater contact between the two populations would be an enormous and positive change. It might be a good idea to respond to the North Koreans by raising this point.
Up to now, the US has refused to open an embassy in N Korea until it starts treating its citizens better…like a moratorium on starvation, I suppose, for a start. There are few weapons to use to force N Korea to give up it’s nuclear weapons program. Economic sanctions won’t be effective without participation with Russia, China and South Korea all of whom are unwilling to join the US in such an endeavor. And a military action is unthinkable IMO.
and on a related note…why do we care about the middle east again?
Maj. Gen. Zhu Chenghu of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army caused quite a stir last week when he threatened to nuke “hundreds” of American cities if the U.S. dared to interfere with a Chinese attempt to conquer Taiwan.
Unrestricted Warfare
(According to Chrisale, China is no threat as a potential super-power to world peace.)
I think we’ll work out something regarding Taiwan’s status short of nuclear war.
I’m sure you’ve heard all the reasons for US military action in Iraq so I won’t repeat that information. Besides, it’s done, get over it. and Bush isn’t going to be unelected.