Dialogue best option for North Korea

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has not only declared an end to moratoriums on nuclear and intercontinental ballistic missile tests, but has also threatened a demonstration of a “new strategic weapon,” and that certainly sends a dangerous signal to the world.

The saving grace is that he has hinted there is still scope for dialogue with the United States.

Kim assertion that there are no grounds for North Korea to be bound any longer by a self-declared moratorium on testing nuclear bombs and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBM is a cause for worry that needs to be addressed by the world community.

Tension had been rising ahead of the year-end as North Korea conducted a series of weapons tests and waged a war of words with US President Donald Trump.

Overall, there were as many as thirteen missile tests last year, despite UN Security Council resolutions prohibiting North Korea from conducting any launches that use ballistic missile technology.

Despite two widely reported summits between Kim Jong Un and Trump, diplomatic efforts between North Korea and the US, as well as between North Korea and South Korea, have stalled.

Working-level talks in Stockholm in October broke down, with a North Korean chief negotiator accusing US officials of sticking to their old stance.

North Korea had been developing submarine-launched ballistic missile technology before it suspended long-range missile and nuclear tests and began talks with the United States that led to the first summit between Kim and Trump in Singapore in June 2018.

Top North Korean officials have recently been issuing statements of displeasure over the slow pace of nuclear negotiations and have been demanding that the Trump administration ease crippling sanctions and pressure on their country.

In his latest comments on Tuesday in the United States, Trump insisted he had a good relationship with Kim. He still expects the North korean leader to keep his word.

“He likes me, I like him. We get along. He’s representing his country, I’m representing my country. We have to do what we have to do. But he did sign a contract, he did sign an agreement talking about denuclearisation,” Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida.

Pyongyang’s future actions could include test firing an ICBM alongside nuclear warhead tests. North Korea last test fired an ICBM in 2017.

The nuclear issue is too serious to be lost in the din of allegations and counter-allegations.

North Korea has defied years of isolation and sanctions to develop its arsenal and has not given up any of its weapons, while proving itself adept at dragging out discussions.

Going by the developments, it is not easy to erase persisting doubts about the future of the negotiations and North’s willingness to give up its stockpile of nuclear weapons.

As top UN officials point out, lack of diplomatic activity will not help the human rights or humanitarian situation in the country, where international aid operations remain critical for over 10 million people, around 40 per cent of the population.

The fundamental goal of denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula should be achieved.

What Pyongyang fails to realise is that firing more and more missiles cannot be a solution.

It has to alter course from its maverick behaviour. The best option would be to sincerely cooperate with international efforts to find a diplomatic solution leading to lasting peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. Any other path could prove futile.