By Choi Yearn-hong
The full investigation into the explosion that caused the sinking of the South Korean naval ship Cheonan has been released. Many ``normal" people already guessed North Korean was responsible for the incident in the Yellow Sea that March night.
North Korea has denied it. Strange to say, many South Korean opposition leaders and politicians had attempted to find alternative explanations to North Korean involvement.
If not North Korea, then who could it have been? There are many ``abnormal" South Korean people who are either sympathetic to North Korea or hopeful that the explosion came from a possible accident. Now, it is all over. An international investigation team has finally released the long awaited report.
What can we do now? South Korean military retaliation on the North Korean navy's sudden and surprise attack which destroyed the 1,200-ton ship is not very desirable.
It could escalate to a massive war along the Demilitarized Zone. North Korea has the capability to start a series of local battles in the DMZ, in the Yellow Sea or in the East Sea. So it should not start a retaliatory war.
But serious diplomatic and economic punitive options are possible. Putting North Korea back on the list of terrorist nations will be the first act South Korea can request from the international community, including the United Nations and other organizations.
North Korea has offered ample evidence to be back on the list of the terrorism-sponsoring nations. It has allegedly formed nuclear and missile alliances with Iran, Syria, Hezbolla and Hamas, plus this attack on the Cheonan which killed 46 sailors. Kim Jong-il's money is now deposited in a Swiss bank and a bank in Luxembourg.
Freezing his accounts will restrict his leadership and maneuvering in North Korea. Freezing his money would be a good punishment. All North Korean ships on the high seas should be stopped and investigated for their possible involvement with the terrorist activities in the Middle East.
From now on, the South Korean rescue operation of the North Korean ship kidnapped by Somalia pirates in the high seas should be stopped, because it is not worthwhile at all. Punishment of North Korea's barbaric act on the Cheonan is necessary.
A United Nations' economic sanction on North Korea can be one punishment. North Korea cannot survive very long without outside assistance and help.
Let China be shamed of its backing of the North Korean regime which has been violating human rights and the basic line of diplomacy. The international community should make China see its pathetic relationship with North Korea's dictator Kim Jong-il.
More serious retaliation should come from South Korea's military power. North Korea is not competitive with South Korea in military strength.
The South's superior naval power will not permit any future provocations from North Korea in the Yellow Sea and the East Sea. Its superior ground forces will not encourage any hostilities from the North along the DMZ.
South Korea's superior air force will not encourage any attacks from the North in air space. It has not prepared itself well for North Korean attacks in the past 10 years or so.
So-called leftist Seoul governments had fantasized that many people would view the South's superior economic power as the same as its superior military power. Its economic power has not been properly reflected in its military power.
One North Korean sympathizer told me once that ``North Korean army trucks could not fill their gas tanks." He asked me, ``How could they start a war? He convincingly answered his own question, ``It's impossible."
He could convince many innocent people that the North Korean torpedo from its submarine sank the Cheonan and killed 46 sailors in one moment.
North Korea has developed its nuclear weapons and long-range missiles. Now, it is South Korea's turn to exert military power.
In 1990, the Cold War ended with the U.S.'s superior military power over the Soviet Russia's. And 2010 should be the year of beginning to overwhelm North Korea through military forces. If necessary, South Korea should develop long-range missiles and nuclear weapons.
The U.S. and China should pardon or encourage South Korea to arm itself with superior manpower and weapon systems. They cannot maintain a status quo with North Korea's barbaric acts toward South Korea. They should free South Korea from military shortcomings, as long as North Korea continues to provoke.
Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and no military build-up from the two Koreas should bring regional stability and peace to East Asia. If South Korea is controlled by the U.S., and North Korea is not controlled by China, the balance of power or equilibrium cannot be guaranteed.
If China cannot control North Korea's behavior, then it should free South Korea to develop its superior military power to deter aggressive North Korean acts.
The U.S. and South Korean intelligence community has failed to assess North Korean submarine and torpedo attack capabilities. This is one serious business the two nations should urgently and immediately address. Many South Korean and American people regret to admit this simple fact of the Cheonan tragedy.
In order to prevent the recurrence of such a tragic incident, South Korea should build up its military power along the DMZ, the Yellow Sea, the East Sea, and its air space. This is the best retaliation to North Korea.
Dr. Choi is a political scientist retired after his long teaching career in the United States and Korea. He can be reached at yearnhc@hanmail.net. The views expressed in the above article are the author's own and do not reflect the editorial policy of The Korea Times.