Source:Global Times Published: 2017/2/22 0:08:39
China has announced it would ban all coal imports from North Korea until the end of the year, which shows Beijing's resolve to implement UN Security Council resolutions punishing North Korea over its nuclear program. It is now time for the US and South Korea to make constructive actions to create conditions to solve the conundrum.
An article in Bloomberg News said, If China really wanted to pressure North Korea, it could go a lot further than a ban on buying the isolated country's coal. Similar opinions could be seen on other overseas media outlets. If Washington and Seoul look at Pyongyang's nuclear issue with the same mentality, the issue will be more difficult to solve.
North Korea's nuclear issue has reached a deadlock. It has been dragging on and becoming more explosive. The US and South Korea are creating a misconception that the country which imposes the severest sanctions on Pyongyang is the most sincere in solving the problem.
The US and South Korea have no new tactics to deal with North Korea, but can't sit still. Then they simply call for exerting more pressure on North Korea. They seem to believe that the sanctions can scare Pyongyang and make it give up its nuclear ambitions.
But the situation is not as easy as that, especially given that North Korea firmly believes nuclear weapons are important tools, and that it has made huge sacrifices to develop nuclear weapons.
Those who believe Beijing should do more or that Beijing holds the key to solving the North Korean nuclear issue are either ignorant or calculating strategists. They are the ones who complicate the issue.
The US and South Korea must continue to engage with Pyongyang while imposing sanctions on it. They should give Pyongyang a choice rather than making it believe that no matter what it does, the two will overthrow its regime anyway. Engaging with Pyongyang isn't more difficult than Pyongyang giving up its nuclear ambitions.
It's time to restart the Six-Party Talks. The last talks were held in 2007, and North Korea, the US and South Korea have since refused to return to the negotiating table. They have set preconditions for rebooting the talks. But in the past decade, disengagement between the two sides ended up nowhere.
Is North Korea safer than it was 10 years ago? Does South Korea have more strategic leverage? Has the US brought North Korea to its knees?
There are only two solutions to break the deadlock between the US, South Korea and North Korea - a war or a turning point in coexistence. US PresidentDonald Trumpeven wants to improve ties with a strategic adversary as Russia. North Korea is comparatively only an imaginary enemy. The North Korean nuclear issue requires efforts on all parties, and we hope Trump has the resolve to make those efforts.
Owning nuclear weapons will only bring isolation and more danger to North Korea. The Six-Party Talks are a good opportunity for all stakeholders to engage with each other. China supports any move that helps stabilize the Korean Peninsula. It is time for South Korea, the US and North Korea to engage with each other.