The leadership of North Korea has made a very dangerous mistake by raising its rhetoric to say that it is entering a “state of war” with South Korea and its major ally, the United States. It condemned US B-2 bomber sorties over South Korea during military exercises as a “reckless phase” that represented an “ultimatum that they will ignite a nuclear war at any cost on the Korean peninsula”.
The US has held countless military exercises with the South Koreans, and the latest was no exception. It was deliberately provocative of Kim Jong-un to focus on last week’s routine exercise and to name US mainland and bases in Hawaii, Guam and South Korea as potential targets of North Korean military action.
Tensions in the Korean peninsula have grown since China backed the latest round of UN Security Council sanctions on North Korea. The fact that the Chinese both backed the sanctions and even took part in drafting the wording has meant that the North is more isolated than ever. Kim lashing out at the US is part of his fury at not being supported by his Chinese backers.
The way forward is for China to continue to play a constructive role in reining in its client state. It has suited the Chinese to have a buffer between them and the US-backed South Koreans, but even the legendary Chinese patience must be wearing thin with Kim’s continuous follies. Washington and Seoul have a tough job as they hold the line on South Korea’s integrity, but they should not blink as they face down Kim’s wild threats.
In the long term, the North Korean regime is morally and actually bankrupt. It should be allowed to collapse as the two Koreas reunite under a democratic and united government. A major aid programme will have to be launched to sustain the impoverished people of the North, when the united Koreans will face a far more hopeful future than what North Koreans are being offered by the present failed regime.
