Clear Message

Seoul, Washington Reaffirm Joint Front Against North

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to South Korea has served as an opportunity for Seoul and Washington to reaffirm their efforts to achieve the denuclearization of North Korea. Clinton and South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan sent a clear message to Pyongyang that they would not tolerate the communist state's development of nuclear weapons.

Such a message is not new, but it shows the two allies' firm stance against the North's nuclear ambitions amid escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula. It is sad that the Kim Jong-il regime is only stepping up its saber-rattling and nuclear-baiting in an apparent bid to draw attention from the new U.S. administration and extract more concessions from both Seoul and Washington.

On Friday, Yu and Clinton agreed to closely cooperate in tackling the North Korea issue to foil any reckless attempt by the North to keep South Korea and the United States apart. It is imperative that the traditional allies work together to prove that it is futile for the North to resort to its anachronistic policy of having direct talks with the United States while marginalizing the South.

In this regard, we welcome the agreement between the top diplomats that they will push for the ``complete and verifiable'' dismantlement of the North's nuclear programs through the six-nation talks. It is urgent that Seoul and Washington translate the accord into action to prod the world's last Stalinist country to return to the table and make good on its commitments to deunclearization.

Clinton and Yu have called on Pyongyang to refrain from taking provocative actions and to go back to inter-Korean talks to ease tensions and move toward reconciliation and peace. The North Korean leadership should pay heed to the call by doing its best to revive the stalled six-party negotiations and the South-North talks which have been suspended since conservative President Lee Myung-bak took office in February 2008.

Last week, Clinton said the United States is willing to normalize ties with the North as long as it abandons its nuclear program. She also said the superpower is ready to replace the long-held armistice agreement on the peninsula with a permanent peace treaty. But the North is refusing to accept the conciliatory gestures. Instead, it is preparing to test-fire a long-range Taepodong-2 ballistic missile and also threatening to have an ``all-out confrontation'' with the South.

North Korea should no longer try to test the Barack Obama administration as its outdated brinkmanship tactics and nuclear blackmail have proven to be failures. It must realize that turning the clock back will only lead to self-destruction. The North may face an implosion fueled by its economic collapse and potential political uncertainties in the post-Kim Jong-il era.

Now, the ball is in North Korea's court. The North is required to resume dialogue with the South and sit again with nuclear disarmament negotiators of the United States and other six-party nations. We hope the Kim Jong-il regime will change itself to enjoy economic aid, security guarantees and diplomatic incentives in return for denuclearization. This is certainly the best option for North Korea.