North Korea likely to harden stance toward China, US
Pyongyang snubs Beijing's gesture for better relations
By Yi Whan-woo
All eyes are now on what steps North Korea will take after its leader Kim Jong-un apparently refused to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy Song Tao, and U.S. President Donald Trump re-designated the North as a state of sponsor of terrorism.
Song wrapped up his four-day visit to Pyongyang and returned home Monday. But none of North Korea's state-controlled media had reported as of Tuesday whether he met Kim.
This suggests that the young North Korean tyrant may have snubbed Xi's gesture to thaw Pyongyang-Beijing ties and accelerated the regime's international isolation amid growing U.N. Security Council sanctions.
In these circumstances, Trump's re-designation of North Korea on the U.S. list of state of sponsor Monday is expected to bring greater challenges in resuming dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington, according to experts.
Trump was initially expected to announce last week whether to put North Korea back on the blacklist for the first time since 2008, but delayed his decision.
The delay came after North Korea had refrained from any military provocations since Sept. 15, and had raised hopes that Washington, in return, may be considering resuming dialogue with Pyongyang as hinted by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
"It is possible that Trump waited to see how Kim would react to Xi's gesture to thaw Pyongyang-Beijing ties before deciding to put North Korea back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism," an analyst said on condition of anonymity.
Kim Hyun-wook, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, agreed, saying "Trump may have judged that efforts to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table failed when Song ended his Pyongyang visit without meeting Kim."
Cho Sung-ryul, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Strategy, assessed the U.S. designation of North Korea as a terrorist sponsor as "the Trump government's decision to put aside resuming talks with Kim for the time being."
Meanwhile, the South Korean government welcomed the U.S. measure against North Korea, Monday.
"It is our stance that the measure was taken in line with international cooperation to resolve the North Korea nuclear crisis through sanctions and pressure at the maximum level," said a Cheong Wa Dae official who asked not to be named "We believe it will help in promoting Pyongyang's denuclearization through peaceful means, and we're closely working with the U.S. on every level accordingly."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said South Korea and the U.S., despite re-designation of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, will remain unchanged in making efforts to bring Pyongyang to the negotiating table."
A Ministry of Unification official speculated that putting North Korea on the blacklist is not likely to affect inter-Korean relations significantly.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed inter-Korean exchanges took place in the past even when North Korea was blacklisted by the U.S. for sponsoring terrorism.
"The government will not hurry, nor delay, but calmly proceed with our plan on humanitarian assistance for North Korea through international programs," the official said.
Kim Jong-un 'snubs' China in failure to repay diplomatic favour 2017-11-22 11:13 | SCMP
Possible NK provocations
With North Korea put into corner, analysts speculated that the country may resume its military provocation and heighten tension on the Korean Peninsula again.
"It appears the U.S. and North Korea are back at the chicken game," Professor Kim said.
Some experts agreed with the National Intelligence Service (NIS), which claimed during a National Assembly briefing, Monday, that North Korea may carry out a ballistic missile test before the end of the year.
Regarding a possible seventh nuclear test, the NIS said no signs of such test had been detected at Pyongyang's nuclear test site in Punggye-ri, Hamgyong Province but warned that it could still happen at any time depending on Kim Jong-un's decision.
"North Korea can possibly refer to the U.S. re-designation of its regime on the list of state sponsors of terrorism as a reason to resume missile tests," Cho said.
Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University, said Pyongyang may begin with "verbal provocation," adding, "It does not seem to have sorted out the technical problems associated with its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)."
"It can't be ruled out that Pyongyang will fire an ICBM, but if it does so, it means it will be left with hardly any cards to threaten the world in the future. In this climate, North Korea will be prudent in responding to the U.S. blacklist and it may carry out provocations on a smaller scale, such as short- and medium-range ballistic missile or submarine-launched ballistic missile tests," he said.
By Yi Whan-woo
All eyes are now on what steps North Korea will take after its leader Kim Jong-un apparently refused to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping's special envoy Song Tao, and U.S. President Donald Trump re-designated the North as a state of sponsor of terrorism.
Song wrapped up his four-day visit to Pyongyang and returned home Monday. But none of North Korea's state-controlled media had reported as of Tuesday whether he met Kim.
This suggests that the young North Korean tyrant may have snubbed Xi's gesture to thaw Pyongyang-Beijing ties and accelerated the regime's international isolation amid growing U.N. Security Council sanctions.
In these circumstances, Trump's re-designation of North Korea on the U.S. list of state of sponsor Monday is expected to bring greater challenges in resuming dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington, according to experts.
Trump was initially expected to announce last week whether to put North Korea back on the blacklist for the first time since 2008, but delayed his decision.
The delay came after North Korea had refrained from any military provocations since Sept. 15, and had raised hopes that Washington, in return, may be considering resuming dialogue with Pyongyang as hinted by U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson.
"It is possible that Trump waited to see how Kim would react to Xi's gesture to thaw Pyongyang-Beijing ties before deciding to put North Korea back on the list of state sponsors of terrorism," an analyst said on condition of anonymity.
Kim Hyun-wook, a professor at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, agreed, saying "Trump may have judged that efforts to bring North Korea back to the negotiating table failed when Song ended his Pyongyang visit without meeting Kim."
Cho Sung-ryul, a senior researcher at the Institute for National Security Strategy, assessed the U.S. designation of North Korea as a terrorist sponsor as "the Trump government's decision to put aside resuming talks with Kim for the time being."
Meanwhile, the South Korean government welcomed the U.S. measure against North Korea, Monday.
"It is our stance that the measure was taken in line with international cooperation to resolve the North Korea nuclear crisis through sanctions and pressure at the maximum level," said a Cheong Wa Dae official who asked not to be named "We believe it will help in promoting Pyongyang's denuclearization through peaceful means, and we're closely working with the U.S. on every level accordingly."
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said South Korea and the U.S., despite re-designation of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism, will remain unchanged in making efforts to bring Pyongyang to the negotiating table."
A Ministry of Unification official speculated that putting North Korea on the blacklist is not likely to affect inter-Korean relations significantly.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, claimed inter-Korean exchanges took place in the past even when North Korea was blacklisted by the U.S. for sponsoring terrorism.
"The government will not hurry, nor delay, but calmly proceed with our plan on humanitarian assistance for North Korea through international programs," the official said.
Kim Jong-un 'snubs' China in failure to repay diplomatic favour 2017-11-22 11:13 | SCMP
Possible NK provocations
With North Korea put into corner, analysts speculated that the country may resume its military provocation and heighten tension on the Korean Peninsula again.
"It appears the U.S. and North Korea are back at the chicken game," Professor Kim said.
Some experts agreed with the National Intelligence Service (NIS), which claimed during a National Assembly briefing, Monday, that North Korea may carry out a ballistic missile test before the end of the year.
Regarding a possible seventh nuclear test, the NIS said no signs of such test had been detected at Pyongyang's nuclear test site in Punggye-ri, Hamgyong Province but warned that it could still happen at any time depending on Kim Jong-un's decision.
"North Korea can possibly refer to the U.S. re-designation of its regime on the list of state sponsors of terrorism as a reason to resume missile tests," Cho said.
Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Dongguk University, said Pyongyang may begin with "verbal provocation," adding, "It does not seem to have sorted out the technical problems associated with its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)."
"It can't be ruled out that Pyongyang will fire an ICBM, but if it does so, it means it will be left with hardly any cards to threaten the world in the future. In this climate, North Korea will be prudent in responding to the U.S. blacklist and it may carry out provocations on a smaller scale, such as short- and medium-range ballistic missile or submarine-launched ballistic missile tests," he said.
(责任编辑:产品中心)
相关内容
- Echo Dot (5th gen) deal — get it for $29.99 at Amazon
- Why we might not get a stimulus bill even after the election.
- 禁烟控烟 让城市更清新
- Former Mueller prosecutor Andrew Weissmann says Russia investigation "could have done more.”
- 9 Planetariums to Get Lost in the Cosmos
- [Online Predators] Deepfake pornography haunts S. Korea
- Trump smiles with North Korea, threatens Iran
- 追着阳光走 在雅安过一个暖和的冬天
- Taylor Swift’s 'Midnights' social media promo was weird, right?
- PS5 Pro: There are new whispers that the release date is fast approaching
- 蔡更元:养猪大会需长期坚持“论坛+拍卖+展览”形式
- 雨城公安开展易制毒化学品安全检查工作
- How Gen Z is using TikTok to learn about social etiquette
推荐文章
-
We Cannot Live Without Cryptography!
You're about to wind up your day and use your smartphone to check what's in your smart fridge to dec ...[详细] -
The new Moto Edge+ has a smoother display and better processor
One thing is for sure: You can’t complain about phones being too small anymore.That’s de ...[详细] -
Slack is finally starting to come back online
Update: Slack started seeing "signs of improvement" and many users can now begin using the platform. ...[详细] -
Bloomberg clears debts and restores voting rights of former felons in Florida.
Popular in News & Politics I Watched Trump’s Lawyers Cross-Examine S ...[详细] -
改造提升后的景观节点本报讯8月23日,记者再次来到芦山县飞仙关4A级景区旅游基础设施建设项目施工现场,与两个月前相比,这里的变化十分明显。芦山县飞仙关4A级景区旅游基础设施建设项目共有两个标段,建设内 ...[详细]
-
US Democrats skeptical on Trump
Democratic White House contenders gave a guarded welcome to Donald Trump's meeting Sunday with Kim J ...[详细] -
本报讯日前,雅安市名山区、成都市金牛区两地法院举行加强审判领域合作机制签约仪式,携手推动两地经济发展,助力成渝地区双城经济圈建设。签约仪式在成都市金牛区法院举行。仪式上,双方法院就各自法院基本情况、重 ...[详细]
-
Nothing's next smartphone might launch in the U.S.
Nothing Phone (1), the first smartphone from OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei's tech startup Nothing, was ...[详细] -
'Terminator Zero' creators find fresh life in sci
In the 40 years since a low-budget action film from a relatively unknown filmmaker and crew blasted ...[详细] -
Massive DeFi exploit sees hundreds of millions worth of cryptocurrency stolen
When they talk about decentralized finance, they don't mean decentralized like that. Over $300 milli ...[详细]
热点阅读
随机内容
- Apple iPod: The First 10 Years of the Ubiquitous Media Player
- US Democrats skeptical on Trump
- Meta's Oversight Board comes out swinging against Facebook's VIP 'cross
- 明目标 强举措 促消费 重统筹
- A global problem is preventing the wars in Ukraine and Gaza from coming to an end.
- Google Doodle celebrates the gaming legacy of engineer Jerry Lawson
- 注重培训成果转化 推动纪检监察工作高质量发展