The actions of the North Korean government over the past few days, beginning with the launch of a rocket, ostensibly as a communications satellite, and ending with yesterday's threats to withdraw from the Six Party Talks, the fragile backbone of what stability there is in South East Asia, have been predictably unpredictable. And with that epic sentence over with, let's discuss.
The rocket fired from Musudan-ri was hailed as a success by the North Koreans, and a failure by the American government. Inevitable, perhaps. Each side has their own propaganda. Each side wants to paint their own picture.
While the success of this launch may be debated, its ramifications are more clear cut. But they seem archaic. Born of Cold War-style mistrust, miscommunication and irrational fears. One of the key features of the Cold War, from a now distant standpoint was the amount of time spent, by both sides, living in unnecessary fear. Events like Able-Archer and the shooting down of KAL007 are two prime examples of crises that could have been averted with effective communication. Perhaps the closest the world ever came to nuclear war, the Cuban Missile Crisis, was essentially a miscommunication, based on unwarranted mistrust.
The Americans' heavy-handed approach to Communism was to blame for much of the course of the Cold War. Although, as a caveat, the Soviet Union did little to allay any fears the US government may have had. This relates closely to the present day problems within North Korea. It is clear that the US still has a latent "fear" of extreme left wing politics. Perhaps this is warranted, but perhaps it shouldn't be a fear that blinds, but a fear that garners respect and intrigue.
Is it not time that we learned to look past the colour of a flag, and allowed North Korea to come to the table, economically and politically? The sanctions on that country seem unnecessary. Perhaps a more open dialogue on the side of the UN and the US might engender trust from the Pyongyang, and possibly bring a peaceful and beneficial end to these seemingly petulant hostilities.
The rocket fired from Musudan-ri was hailed as a success by the North Koreans, and a failure by the American government. Inevitable, perhaps. Each side has their own propaganda. Each side wants to paint their own picture.
While the success of this launch may be debated, its ramifications are more clear cut. But they seem archaic. Born of Cold War-style mistrust, miscommunication and irrational fears. One of the key features of the Cold War, from a now distant standpoint was the amount of time spent, by both sides, living in unnecessary fear. Events like Able-Archer and the shooting down of KAL007 are two prime examples of crises that could have been averted with effective communication. Perhaps the closest the world ever came to nuclear war, the Cuban Missile Crisis, was essentially a miscommunication, based on unwarranted mistrust.
The Americans' heavy-handed approach to Communism was to blame for much of the course of the Cold War. Although, as a caveat, the Soviet Union did little to allay any fears the US government may have had. This relates closely to the present day problems within North Korea. It is clear that the US still has a latent "fear" of extreme left wing politics. Perhaps this is warranted, but perhaps it shouldn't be a fear that blinds, but a fear that garners respect and intrigue.
Is it not time that we learned to look past the colour of a flag, and allowed North Korea to come to the table, economically and politically? The sanctions on that country seem unnecessary. Perhaps a more open dialogue on the side of the UN and the US might engender trust from the Pyongyang, and possibly bring a peaceful and beneficial end to these seemingly petulant hostilities.
