The impact of the UN sanctions meted against North Korea after its last nuclear test in May has brought the communist regime to the point of using ‘smile diplomacy,’ a significantly huge shift from its erstwhile nuclear diplomacy and ballistic missile diplomacy a few months ago. Pyongyang seems to be diplomatic these days with its ‘series of conciliatory sounding statements and steps.’ ‘Important bilateral talks between North Korea and the United States’ even seem to be in the offing.
Conciliatory steps towards South Korea, commenced by the high-level delegation coming to the funeral of Kim Dae-jung in Seoul, seem to indicate North Korea’s ‘smile diplomacy.’ Business agreements have been forged by the Hyundai Group since. Two tourism projects are being restarted.
Kim Jong-Il himself, who may not be crippled and debilitated as previously thought, has admitted that North Korea wants ‘a peace treaty with the United States.’ The US, however, wants to deal with the nuclear issue first before sitting on the negotiating table for any peace treaty.
UN Security Council Resolution 1874 ‘included an arms embargo and the designation of North Korean individuals for censure, which went further than any other sanctions that the United States unilaterally, or the UN, has ever put on North Korea.’ Now, North Korea is ‘interested in a little bit of coming back to the table to see if they can get some of those sanctions loosened.’
Via Council on Foreign Relations
