Bill Clinton’s successful visit to N Korea may well go down in history as the event which was instrumental in thawing the ice cold and turbulent relationship which America has had with the communist N Korea. To some people this visit was just a means of achieving the freedom of the two journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee from N Korea but it is much more than just that. The official line from Washington may well be that it was a personal visit but I’ll be damned if Obama personally did not endorse if not authorize it. Anyone who feels otherwise is just being naive. Just as well, the visit has achieved what may be called as the ‘turning point’ in the strained relationship which these two countries have shared in the past. I know I’m being premature in my judgement here but be that as it may I feel very strongly about this. And US would be rather foolish not to capitalize on this. Remember the ‘unclench your fist‘ remark by Obama?

Talk to him America

Positive Fallouts

Touching!!!!!!!

The first and foremost one is quite obvious. The release of the two journalists is definitely a welcome step. On a humanitarian level it was quite touching to see them being reunited with their families. Well, all the best to them and I hope they will be careful in their future (We can be rest assured of that one).

This one too!!!!!!

Secondly, as I said earlier this gives the US an opportunity which they can capitalize on. The Koreans have given an indication that they are willing to reach out to US, if only the US reciprocated. If you actually think about it the US has nothing to lose if they came down a bit from their high and mighty position that the release of these journalists and the nuclear disarmament stuff are not related. They can be related if the US want it to be. Quite unfortunately (and ironically as well), Hillary Clinton herself has said exactly the opposite.

Thirdly, it gives a glimmer of hope to the Americans being currently held in Myanmar and Iran by the respective regimes in these countries. Depending upon the approach US takes now in talking to N Korea It will send out a signal to Iran and Myanmar whether to follow the N Koreans or not. And this is one major aspect which the US has to consider before they take a call on whether to talk to N Korea or not.

Fourthly, remember the words ‘Change we believe in’? Yeah, if the US were indeed to start some kind of talks with Koreans Obama’s words would surely ring true. And that’s when we might call him ‘being true to his words’.

Lastly, it reinforces the American spirit of freedom and faith of the American people that the country deeply cares for their well being, even if the administration says that this visit was a personal one. And mind you, we are talking of the freedom and faith of people who are not ethnic Americans but immigrants. And this spirit is indeed credible. This is the reason why America is favored as the most preferred destination for immigrants around the world.

The Pitfalls

Yes, there are some pitfalls of this visit as well. Firstly, if America does not initiate a dialogue pretty soon N Koreans will be more resolute in their pursuit of a nuclear weapon. And that’s a foregone conclusion. We can expect some more missile tests in the Sea of Japan and Yellow Sea in future, if there were to be no talks. And Japan may be justified in being more than just concerned.

Even if Americans were to start a dialogue or open some kind of communication channel with N Koreans, the Koreans are unlikely to get back to Six Party talks which may not be liked by some who have a stake in this namely, Russia and Japan. China may still be acceptable to N Korea to be involved in these talks, which the US would be slightly vary of.

And lastly, I personally don’t see China being too happy with this development because they seem to have been left out completely in this entire event. Also, they would like US to always be preoccupied with such problems. Moreover, if they do not get included in the talks because US would prefer it that way they will surely be more than just unhappy about being taken out of the equation completely.

Conclusion

Be that as it may, there is no denying the fact that there is indeed an opportunity for talks between US and N Korea at this juncture. Unfortunately, this atmosphere will not last for than a couple of months at the most. And therefore time is at a premium here. To this end Hillary Clinton’s statement does not indicate any positive vibes which may have been used to build upon the fruits of this visit. The least that the US administration could do was ‘Thank’ Kim Jong-iL for this positive gesture. I really wonder why are they being so obstinate in their approach? Pertinent to mention here that there are credible reports of Myanmar acquiring nukes with the help of N Korea. If there were to be no talks with N Korea the US can expect another big nuke problem in the shape of Myanmar in future. Is that acceptable to them? Or rather are they ready to deal with this problem? Well, that’s a no-brainer actually.

Having seen all that there is to it I can say quite strongly that the ball is now in America’s court. Whether they want to play ball or not is a decision which they have to take urgently. Unfortunately, the current indicators are not very inspiring. I really hope I’m wrong on this one and there are discussions taking place within the US administration to adopt a more positive position vis-a-vis N Korea. And I wish them all the very best!!!!!!!!

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Posted on August 8th, 2009 Track the world • Tags: China, Clinton, freedom, Japan, journalist, Korea, north, obama, Russia, talks, US. • RSS 2.0 feed • Leave a response, or trackback