A U.S.-based news website specializing in North Korea on Jan. 18 urged Washington to prioritize the settlement of enduring peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula. (Screen capture from 38 North’s homepage)
By Yoon Sojung
With the second North Korea-U.S. summit scheduled for late next month, a U.S.-based media outlet specializing in North Korea has stressed Washington’s role in helping the two Koreas make progress in peace and security on the Korean Peninsula.
38 North on Jan. 18 carried a column by Daniel R. Depetris titled "Advancing Peace and Security on the Korean Peninsula: The Case for Koreanization," which said, "Washington holds some important cards and how it plays them could boost or block further progress."
Maintaining sanctions and preventing any financial relief for Pyeongyang is politically popular in Washington, Depetris said, but added, "It would not only strain U.S.-South Korea relations, but also hinder the prospect of a Korean-owned and Korean-crafted peace regime on the peninsula."
"Without substantive sanctions relief from Washington, the road to a durable and genuine inter-Korean normalization could become more treacherous."
He also implied that Washington should play a more neutral role, saying, "The U.S. should get out of the way and allow the two Koreas to drive the inter-Korean diplomatic process forward without meddling."
"It is in America’s interest to transform the Korean Peninsula into a safer, secure and more economically integrated space, and arguably that outcome is more vital to U.S. national security interest than Pyongyang's denuclearization."
The columnist also advised the U.S. to allow more inter-Korean cooperation, saying, "Indeed, rather than try to weigh Seoul down, Washington should help (South Korean President) Moon (Jae-in) by allowing some of the minor but symbolically significant cross-border projects to come to fruition."
"The U.S. must stop seeing peace on the Korean Peninsula as an exclusively Korean objective and elevate it as a priority in its own strategy for achieving enduring peace and security on the Korean Peninsula."
Depetris concluded with a tip for U.S. President Donald Trump, saying, "If President Trump wants to win the Nobel Peace Prize he often dreams about, he should follow John Lennon’s advice and give peace a chance. Otherwise, the U.S. is likely to end up with the worst of all worlds: neither peace nor denuclearization."
Click the link below to read the full text of the article.
https://www.38north.org/2019/01/ddepetris011819
arete@korea.kr
