(EDITORIAL from JoongAng Daily on Dec. 10)

An existential issue

For the first time, the U.S. Defense Department has published an annual report
that recognized North Korea as a nuclear power, a move that could significantly
rattle the nuclear disarmament efforts of the international community. The U.S.
Joint Forces Command, in its latest report, ???Joint Operating Environment 2008:
Challenges and Implications for the Future Joint Force,??? listed the North as
one of Asia???s nuclear powers, along with China, India, Pakistan and Russia. The
government immediately responded to defuse a possible furor, saying the disputed
part of the report does not reflect the U.S. government???s official stance.
Washington pledged to make corrections immediately. Still, the latest revelation
presents deep concerns that cannot be taken lightly.
The U.S. is certainly not poised to officially give the North nuclear power
status, given that the six-party talks aimed at denuclearizing the country, which
Washington is also a part of, are currently under way. The report may also be
only a part of American contingency efforts to gird for possible nuclear threats
from the North, which is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons since its
contentious nuclear test in October 2006. It may only be a reflection of the U.S.
government???s perception that a nuclear war may erupt in the 2030s, not an
official acknowledgement that North Korea can officially operate nuclear
programs.
Nevertheless, the latest development is disturbing, as the U.S. government has
long taken an ambiguous stance when it comes to setting about weeding out nuclear
proliferation on the Korean Peninsula. Washington has long stressed it would
never allow the North to run nuclear programs. But on the other hand, American
officials have often made comments that can be interpreted to indicate Washington
is willing to let a nuclear weapon or two exist on the peninsula. Indeed, the
chief U.S. nuclear negotiator, Christopher Hill, said in March 2007 that the
absolute red line for the North is transferring its nuclear materials to another
state or another organization. The remark indicated that Washington is
increasingly more focused on fending off possible nuclear proliferation than on
completely eliminating the nuclear program in North Korea.
With the latest report emerging in the midst of today???s developments, it would
be difficult to label the recent revelation as ???only a mistake,??? as the South
Korean government is trying to do.
We believe that the U.S. will stick to its principle that no nuclear program is
to be allowed on the Korean Peninsula. But Washington???s North Korea policies
are not change-proof. Even the way the Bush administration has dealt with the
North has undergone dramatic change over the past eight years. If the past is any
guide, it will not be easy to predict what direction the incoming Obama
administration will go in its North Korea policy.
Therefore, Seoul should not blindly stand by while the U.S. government reveals
growing signs of change in its dealings with the North. We need to work harder to
delve into the inner thinking of Washington policy makers. Just one or two
nuclear weapons may not be a significant threat to the U.S., but here, it
threatens our very existence.
(END)