Posted by: McQ on Tuesday, October 10, 2006 Fairly straight forward rhetoric from both Russia and China concerning North Korea: China, North Korea's most important ally, on Tuesday joined other world powers in calling for a tough response to the reclusive communist state's announcement of a nuclear weapons test.Note the last thing the Russian Defense Minster said. Obviously, it shouldn't come as a surprise that a nation that borders North Korea would be less than enthusiastic about the possibility of the use of force because any such war may spill over borders. But personally I see it as a mistake (whether it would ever be used or not) to remove anything concerning what might constitute "punitive actions" from the table before meeting with the other Security Council permanent members. North Korea must be presented with a united front which holds as the last option the possibility of using force if they choose to ignore the demand to stand-down their nuclear weapons program. The reason that is critical is to found in the Middle East. Iran. Like I mentioned in the other piece, Iran will be watching this very carefully. Any chance for success with North Korea is going to require a united group of the world's most powerful nations (under the auspices of the UN if that works and otherwise if it doesn't) willing to do whatever is necessary to stop this sort of proliferation. If, as usual, internal dissension among the world powers surfaces coupled with a refusal to act militarily if necessary, then Iran will not be encouraged to rethink their commitment to nuclear weapons. In short, success with Iran may hinge on doing what is necessary to stop North Korea. Whether we could again muster the unanimity we might be able to put together with North Korea (I'm talking about China and Russian take in particular) for Iran is another topic. But a demonstration of the will of the rest of the world to require compliance with the Nonproliferation Treaty vis a vis North Korea would at least be a step in the right direction and may pay dividends in the long run by discouraging other non-nuclear countries from the pursuit of these type weapons. |
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