(EDITORIAL from the Korea Times on Jan. 14)

Nuclear Fait Accompli?: Question Raised Over US Stance Against North Korea

Doubts continue over the U.S. policy of not recognizing North Korea as a nuclear
state. A U.S. defense report said Monday that Pyongyang has developed nuclear
weapons and missile delivery systems, juxtaposing the communist country with two
nuclear powers ??? India and Pakistan.
The report was authored by the U.S. Defense Department's task force on nuclear
weapons management, led by former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger. It said,
``North Korea, India and Pakistan have acquired both nuclear weapons and missile
delivery systems, while Iran is apparently headed down the same road.'' It also
said that the derivative danger from North Korea or Iran is that they may pass
nuclear weapons or nuclear technology to others, adding that proliferation
elsewhere remains a strong possibility, particularly in East Asia.
It is not the first time that such a U.S. defense report has categorized North
Korea as a nuclear power. On Nov. 25, the U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM)
published an annual report, ``Joint Operating Environment 2008,'' listing the
North as one of five nuclear powers in Asia. It said, ``The rim of the great
Asian continent is already home to five nuclear powers: China, India, Pakistan,
North Korea and Russia.''
Political and defense analysts here in South Korea cautiously speculated that the
U.S. has virtually granted nuclear status to North Korea, although it officially
denies it. When the November report raised brief controversy, the Bush
administration reportedly promised to correct the ``mistake'' but the revision
has yet to be made.
Besides, in its publication ``Global Trends 2025: A Transformed World,'' the U.S
Intelligence Council (NIC) described North Korea as a nuclear weapons state:
``The possibility of a future disruptive regime change or collapse occurring in a
nuclear weapons state such as North Korea also continues to raise questions
regarding the ability of weak states to control and secure their nuclear
arsenals.''
Therefore, such reports have added fuel to the speculation that Washington has
tacitly changed its policy to include Pyongyang as a de facto possessor of
nuclear weapons. If the U.S. takes a realistic step to make North Korea a nuclear
fait accompli, it may bring tremendous change to its policy on nuclear
nonproliferation.
This might set a bad precedent since a pariah such as North Korea could join the
nuclear club. The Bush administration has failed to persuade Pyongyang to abandon
its nuclear weapons program despite some progress in the six-party talks for the
North's denuclearization. The incoming Barak Obama administration will have to
continue multinational negotiations to force the North to completely disable its
nuclear facilities.
The first thing for Obama to do is clarify the U.S. position on the North Korean
nuclear issue. Some pundits do not rule out the possibility that the U.S.
government may recognize the North as a nuclear state and then focus on
preventing it from proliferating nuclear weapons and technology to other
countries. But the U.S. should not compromise international efforts to make the
Korean Peninsula nuclear weapons-free. The U.S., South Korea and other six-party
states must not allow the recalcitrant North to continue gambling with nuclear
matters any more.
(END)