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Pyongyang's announcement that it has developed nuclear weapons has significantly limited the diplomatic position of the Seoul government. It makes it difficult for the government to side with North Korea on the international stage. It will also become difficult to try and intervene should the United States have something drastic planned for the North.
The government faces an agonizing choice now that Pyongyang has officially declared it has nuclear weapons. For now, Seoul appears to regard that as a negotiation strategy. But the 2004 Defense White Paper already admits that it is ¡°possible¡± that Pyongyang has nuclear arms.
The government must show in concrete policies that North Korea's nuclear armament is unacceptable. And if the North really does have nuclear arms, there is an urgent task for Seoul to deal with.
It became painfully obvious on Thursday that the government has not even had basic rapport with the Pyongyang over the issue. Right up until the surprise statement, Seould had been optimistic about the North's return to the six-nation talks. In inter-Korean dialogue and exchanges, the North concentrated only on the economic issues necessary for it and dodged the military and security sectors, including the nuclear problem. In this, Seoul has appeared to back it all the way.
As a consequence, Pyongyang has not felt it necessary to discuss the nuclear issue with Seoul. It is high time we rethought both the essence and objectives of inter-Korean exchanges.
The more the North Korean nuclear crisis escalates, the greater is the need of cooperation between South Korea, the United States and Japan. Smooth Seoul-Washington communication and cooperation can only help Seoul¡¯s cause in Washington. It is also important to help China, stuck as it is in an embarrassing position after the Pyongyang declaration, so Beijing can exercise what influence it has over North Korea.
This may well be a decisive moment for the security of South Korea, the fate of North Korea and the future of the Korean peninsula. The government must map out a grand strategy for the peninsula now.
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