Who is really willing to prevent nuclear war after the Olympics break?

by Sophie Mangal

A petition appealing to the DPRK’s authorities to stop testing weapons of mass destruction (WMD) during the Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang has recently emerged at thechange.org.

A huge number of athletes and sports fans eager to live in peace and harmony have initiated this kind of petition. Their emotional distress is quite justified. The fact is that the situation around the Korean peninsula is aggravating with every passing day. Washington and Pyongyang are exchanging threats and rattling nuclear sabers on a regular basis. The Pentagon has stepped up its military presence as well as significant increase in military drills in the region alongside its true allies, South Korea and Japan. For its part, North Korea responds to the challenges by nuclear testing.

The White House demands that the DPRK immediately roll back the aggressive national nuclear and missile programs. At the same time, Washington doesn’t intend to stop conducting military training, establishing a dialogue with Pyongyang and to compromise. It seems the U.S. administration expects uni-lateral capitulation of the North Korean regime.

Perhaps, Trump deliberately provokes Kim Jong Un so that to preserve profitable high level of tension in Asia and the Pacific. It is proved by the increasing level of military sales contracts between the U.S. and Asian states which has jumped to an all-time high. According to SIPRI, American companies considerably raise their share in the total volume.

Only the existence of nuclear weapons can prevent the U.S. from military intervention and from subversive activities on the territory of a sovereign state, Northern part of Peninsula particularly. It means the DPRK will never be able to implement sincerely all the U.S. requirements and to renounce nuclear weapons. The North Korean leadership is well aware that the only viable way to guarantee the sovereignty and integrity of a nation and its territory is undoubtedly successful missile and nuclear program as recognized by the intelligence communities of some powerful states.

Actually, Kim Jong Un made his country a member of a nuclear power club, while doing its utmost to finish the score of his granddad’s lifetime. He celebrates the victory. Obtaining means of delivery for weapons of mass destruction North Korea now become authoritative that let the country to hold the negotiations from a position of strength. The fact that Kim Jong Un agreed for certain relaxation of tensions points out another failure of Trump. He is losing popularity against the background of inconsistent home policy, ill-considered laws, Syrian campaign breakdown, and complicated foreign-policy.

For its part, the North Korean leader is willing to surpass his achievements by trying to prove the transparency to the whole world. Kim Jong Un has already initiated the direct dialog with South Korea, ready for a number of compromises, unlike Donald Trump. The U.S. image has once again been shattered, as the whole world has seen its inefficient and reckless foreign policy.

2018-01-09

Sophie Mangal is an investigative journalist with Inside Syria Media Center