Northeast Asia has again become the focus of world attention as Pyongyang successfully detonates an underground nuclear bomb, writes Gamal Nkrumah In what was aptly described as a "bombshell announcement", North Korea declared last Monday that it was going ahead with plans to test a nuclear bomb. And, much to the Western world's chagrin, and much sooner than originally anticipated, it detonated a nuclear underground blast on Monday -- exactly a week after the first announcement. The official North Korean news agency KCNA described the nuclear blast as a "historic event", claiming that it will help maitain "peace and stability" in Asia. Reactions from the northeastern country's neighbours and from the United States were swift and overwhelmingly terse. "We are not going to wait for a nuclear North Korea," US Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill bellowed in Washington. Hill ominously stated that if North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il and his hangers-on in Pyongyang go ahead all hell would be let loose. Well, North Korea has gone nuclear and it seems there is little the US can do. If punishment comes, it is likely that it will be merely symbolic. In a feeble face-saving gesture, the US circulated a 13-point draft resolution urging more stringent international sanctions against North Korea. Pyongyang derisively scoffed at the US draft resolution describing it as "useless and laughable". This "could provide a pretext for Japan's nuclear armament," Hill, Washington's chief negotiator on North Korea, warned. "This will prompt countermoves by China or Russia and lead to a change in the balance of power in North East Asia," he added. North Korea has emerged as the proverbial mouse that roared. Ironically, or perhaps to underscore its disdain for the current international political set-up, the powers that be in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, chose to conduct the nuclear test to coincide with the nomination of South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon as UN Secretary General-elect. Obviously, there is a hard road ahead for Ban. "North Korea is highly likely to make good on its threat to conduct a nuclear test unless the stalled six-party talks on its nuclear programme resume," opined The Korean Herald, South Korea's leading English-language publication. The paper was referring to talks between North Korea, South Korea, China, Japan, Russia and the US. These talks ground to an abrupt halt when it became evident that Washington and Pyongyang had diametrically opposed and seemingly irreconcilable agendas. The US imposed stringent economic sanctions on North Korea in September 2005. Pyongyang is keen on an economic package from China, South Korea and Japan to compensate for its losses. "China, which along with South Korea holds the key to resolving the issue," explained an editorial of The Korean Herald last week, "should exercise its leverage vis-à-vis its communist ally. By threatening to impose economic sanctions, cut off all trade and withdraw investments, China and South Korea have the best shot at bringing North Korea back to the negotiating table." The two Koreas have launched an inter-Korean economic project in Kaesong, just across the border inside North Korea and a stone's throw from the South Korean capital Seoul. Washington, on the other hand, is miffed about Kaesong and other inter-Korean ventures. The view in Washington is that such projects prop up a bankrupt regime in Pyongyang. On a more sombre note, The Korean Herald warned that US President George W Bush "must realise that exercising a military option on the Korean Peninsula is near impossible". The paper suggested: "What the US could do is mobilise pressure from other concerned countries, including Russia." According to The Korean Herald the US is partly to blame for "the present quagmire" on North Korea: "By taking little action against Pakistan, India and allegedly Israel for developing nuclear weapons, and thus confirming ex facto their nuclear status, the US set a bad precedent." The paper also pointed out, however, that South Korean "Unification Minister Lee Jong Seok told a parliamentary hearing that Pyongyang's statement is seen as brinkmanship to pressure the US to lift financial sanctions and open bilateral talks." North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il virtually presides over ruin. With the onset of winter, the economic situation in fuel-short North Korea is aggravated. The ailing North Korean economy most likely lies at the heart of the recent dramatic announcement by Pyongyang that it is poised to conduct a nuclear bomb test. China and South Korea argue that cold-shouldering North Korea is bound to make the Pyongyang regime even more difficult and unpredictable. The surest way to pacify Pyongyang, Beijing and Seoul argue, is to make sure the North Korean economy picks up. The US and Japan are inclined to think otherwise. China, Pyongyang's closest ally, will not restrain North Korea, it seems. Beijing has made it clear that there will not be a fast and final resolution of the North Korean nuclear question. Both Tokyo and Washington find the indulgent "preventive diplomacy" of South Korea, China and Russia difficult to accept. Japan drafted a non-binding UN statement Friday calling on Pyongyang to abandon plans to test nuclear weapons. The Japanese plea, quite frankly, has fallen on deaf ears. Chapter VII of the UN Charter allows the world body to enforce its demands. Japan, a country with much economic clout, happens to chair the UN Security Council in October. In New York, Japan's permanent representative to the UN and current President of the UN Security Council, Kenzo Oshima, warned the world body that Pyongyang's actions paralysed six-party talks. He urged North Korea to return without preconditions to the talks. He implored North Korea to refrain from further nuclear testing. "We strongly urge North Korea to refrain from rushing into such foolish action," read one editorial of The Asahi Shimbun of Japan. "We suspect Pyongyang is misreading the global situation," the paper went on to say. "There would be no winner with a North Korean nuclear test," the Japanese daily concluded. "North Korea's economic woes would deepen and all prospects of development would fade away." Meanwhile, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited China and South Korea this week -- his first trips abroad in an official capacity. Abe, who has put the improvement of relations with Beijing and Seoul atop his list of priorities, discussed with Chinese President Hu Jintao and other top-level Chinese officials the North Korean nuclear crisis. In Seoul, he also deliberated the issue with South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun. Abe warned that Northeast Asia was "entering a new and dangerous nuclear age". He described the North Korean nuclear test as "unpardonable". The North Koreans are reported to have told the Chinese that they will only rescind if they are allowed to set up a civilian nuclear reactor. In July, North Korea test-fired seven missiles. The UN Security Council promptly voted to impose sanctions. Russia and China, however, oppose implementation. France, too, has expressed reservations. Moscow, in a flurry of diplomatic activity, has stepped up efforts to overcome the crisis through peaceful means. "We are talking about moves we can take and working directly with the leaders of North Korea to try to convince them to hold back from committing any act which could worsen the situation," Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov explained. For now, all eyes are on Pyongyang. North Korea yearns for economic salvation. It is surrounded by some of the world's wealthiest nations and others with tremendous economic growth rates. The world is watching to see if Pyongyang will abandon its plans to test a nuclear device. Washington warned of "international repercussions," but what that means precisely is still open to question.
