Follow us on social

Screen-shot-2021-10-13-at-4.28.03-pm

North Korea closer to testing a nuke

So what should the US be doing about it? Perhaps it needs to throw out the old playbook.

Analysis | Asia-Pacific

North Korea’s missile launch over Japan on Tuesday, the latest in a series of provocative tests this year, may portend a worrisome escalation leading up to a nuclear test, which is reportedly being considered by Pyongyang.

Increasingly frequent and aggressive North Korean provocations since the breakdown of inter-Korean and U.S.-North Korean talks in 2019 are part of a clear historical trend — tensions on the peninsula tend to escalate significantly when the U.S. and South Korean approach is centered primarily on sanctions and military pressure with little (if any) diplomacy. 

Many attempts by Washington and Seoul to punish and pressure Pyongyang have been met with fierce resistance and aggressive actions instead of a white flag. We saw this trend throughout the Obama administration and the beginning of the Trump administration, and the result was a more confrontational security landscape on the peninsula. 

It stands to reason that avoiding further escalation and another nuclear crisis will require urgent U.S. diplomacy and engagement with North Korea and China. Instead, Washington and Seoul alike have ramped up military deterrence while resisting the types of conciliatory steps that could encourage North Korea to re-evaluate its aggressive posture and return to dialogue; they have also failed to initiate a new dialogue with Beijing regarding the slow-motion crisis. 

Pyongyang’s behavior underscores the urgent need for Sino-U.S. cooperation in the face of a seemingly very possible escalation on the Korean peninsula, given Beijing's long-standing role in facilitating dialogue with North Korea. The deterioration of U.S.-China relations in recent years has increased suspicion between them regarding each other's strategic intent on the Korean peninsula, thus making regional cooperation on the North Korea front more difficult.  

Washington and Seoul must reconsider their current North Korea policies, break the vicious escalation cycle and work to reduce tensions. It’s been said that trying the same thing over and over and expecting a different result is akin to madness; in the face of a looming crisis that threatens regional stability and the security of U.S. allies, it’s time for Washington to stop the madness and try diplomacy — not just more tough talk.


North Korean state television/You Tube coverage of recent Kim gave the speech Monday at the Defense Development Exhibition in October 2021. (screenshot)
Analysis | Asia-Pacific
arrest free speech
Top photo credit: Spaxiax/Shutterstock

Does Vance’s free speech defense in Munich not apply here?

Global Crises

At the Munich Security Conference in mid-February, U.S. Vice President JD Vance warned Europe not to back away from one of the West’s most basic democratic values: free speech.

“In Washington there is a new sheriff in town," he said, "and under Donald Trump’s leadership, we may disagree with your views, but we will fight to defend your right to offer it in the public square, agree or disagree.”

keep readingShow less
Diplomacy Watch Donald Trump Putin Zelensky
Top Photo Credit: Diplomacy Watch (Khody Akhavi)

Macron fails to get Europe to send troops to Ukraine

QiOSK

European leaders met this week at the behest of French President Emmanuel Macron, who wants to solidify a plan to send troops to Ukraine as a security package. However, the meetings emerged, according to the Wall Street Journal, “without a public commitment from other European countries to send troops.”

France and the United Kingdom have been pushing for troops on the ground in Ukraine, and other countries, like Sweden, Denmark, and Australia, have indicated a willingness to do so as well. The main hurdle appears to be that most are apparently unwilling to send their armed forces to Ukraine without the protection of the United States.

keep readingShow less
Donald Trump
Top image credit: Andrew Harnik / Shutterstock.com

The war over war with Iran has just begun

Middle East

The war drums are getting louder in Washington.

In recent weeks, many of the same neoconservative voices who pushed the U.S. into Iraq are calling for strikes on Iran. Groups like the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and the Washington Institute for Near East Policy are once again promoting confrontation, claiming there may never be a better time to act. But this is a dangerous illusion that risks derailing what Donald Trump himself says he wants: a deal, not another disastrous war in the Middle East.

keep readingShow less

Trump transition

Latest

Newsletter

Subscribe now to our weekly round-up and don't miss a beat with your favorite RS contributors and reporters, as well as staff analysis, opinion, and news promoting a positive, non-partisan vision of U.S. foreign policy.