North Korea's nuclear test last week sparked international condemnation, but why is Pyongyang so maligned? Gamal Nkrumah probes this puzzle Say Pyongyang to most political sages and they respond with some vague flicker of revulsion. And especially so now that North Korea has supposedly tested nuclear weapons "as powerful as the Hiroshima bomb" the pundits tell us. Their preconceived notions about the communist "pariah state" bent on terrorising the hapless US with nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction are accepted wisdom, repeated ad nauseum in Western media. They are stuck in the past. People, the world over, are sick and tired of an old tale about a grand battle between goodies and baddies -- Tokyo, Seoul and Washington being the goodies and Pyongyang the mischievous foe. The irony is that with its dumbed-down view of history and reliance on old gimmicks North Korea is outsmarting its critics. It is a country that many pundits and policymakers loathe, and even its friends hardly adore. Yes, Pyongyang is a convenient ally to certain global powers -- Russia and China to be precise. But when either Moscow or Beijing gets distress calls from Washington, Seoul or Tokyo, they bury their heads in the sand in ostrich-like fashion. Pyongyang throws down a challenge, daring any power to halt or even hamper its nuclear ambitions. However, there is something else that spooks Western politicians and pundits alike. Pyongyang has staunch allies in Moscow and Beijing. Pyongyang is effectively put on trial for a crime it insists it hasn't committed. It really is nobody's business what Pyongyang does as long as Israel, India and Pakistan are nuclear powers that the West is more than happy to do business with. What is so disappointing about Pyongyang, as far as the pundits are concerned, is that its basic premise for nuclear ambition is full of rich possibility. "The United States thinks that this is a grave violation of international law and a threat to regional and international peace and security," the US Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice solemnly told reporters in New York soon after North Korea tested a nuclear-tipped missile on 25 May. Rice urged the UN Security Council to issue a "swift, clear, unequivocal condemnation and opposition to what occurred." But let's be realistic for a moment. What danger could North Korea possibly pose to the United States? I reckon, absolutely none. Not in the radioactive lifetime of all the spent fuel which the hermit kingdom is supposedly turning into fancy bombs. And, what about the presumed dangers it poses to Japan? Again, next to nothing. Even South Korea issued only an unconvincing lukewarm press release about the North Korean blast being a "serious threat". Yet the debate over Pyongyang's nuclear capabilities does not have to end in a standoff. After all, it is the US that has the world's largest nuclear arsenal and is the only country that used the A-bomb -- against innocent Japanese civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Yet, it is Pyongyang that is branded as one of the trio in the so-called "Axis of Evil". The ailing North Korean leader Kim Jong-Il has staked out a distinct role on the international political scene as a vagabond of sorts. He is simultaneously both villain and hero. It's striking how many Third World leaders are looking to Kim for inspiration right now. Amid the international condemnation of North Korea's nuclear blast there is a sneaking admiration for its daring deed. It recognises the existence of a potential conflict and the need to manage it. But it is hard to resist experiencing a sense of awe at the chutzpah of the Koreans in the face of the US/NATO/EU fiat concerning all things nuclear, and everything else for that matter. Pyongyang, despite still being in celebratory mood over its nuclear exploits, was not amused by Washington's reaction. Nor was it pleased with Seoul's and Tokyo's. They remaining Quixotically defiant to the end. The search for scapegoats continues, while the real nuclear culprits -- the US and Israel -- get away Scotch free. Washington seems to blame Pyongyang for just about anything. The rest of the world yawns. What the plucky Koreans seem to be showing us is that only by playing hardball within the new international world order dominated by pax americana can a third world country carve a special niche in world affairs, even though with dubious means. North Korea's decision to test a nuclear bomb was, contrary to conventional wisdom, not an affront to international law, but rather a political move. "Detonating a nuclear device is a political decision -- it is not necessarily a matter of international law," Professor Salah El-Din Amer, a leading specialist on intenational law told Al-Ahram Weekly. Amer explained that North Korea pulled out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in January 2003. It is under no obligation under international law to abide by its restrictions. "Technically, North Korea is not breaking international law," Amer explained. "Why is it that the world turns a blind eye to Israel's nuclear arsenal and makes a fuss over North Korea's nuclear bomb test? Why the double standards," asked Amer wearily. Western powers, in concerted action, have long prevented the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) from voting on a motion to prevent Israel from utilising nuclear energy for military purposes. The burning question as far as Arabs are concerned is why Israel isn't internationally condemned for developing its nuclear arsenal. Why shouldn't Israel join the NPT and use atomic energy strictly and exclusively for peaceful purposes? Western powers, in a warped sort of logic, claim that Israel is a democratic state, "the only democracy in the Middle East", which mysteriously entitles it to freely develop its nuclear programme without the limitations of international inspections and IAEA safeguards. In reality, and as its recent barbaric aggression against Lebanon and Gaza has shown, Israel is the only country in the Middle East, and the world, allowed to get away without being subjected to the full scope of IAEA safeguards and sanctions. "Israel is a law unto itself," Amer explained. "North Korea, isn't." Amer went on to explain that North Korea is stigmatised as a state sponsoring terror and a member of the "Axis of Evil". "Israel hasn't signed or ratified the NPT. Egypt is. The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council are nuclear powers. India and Pakistan are also openly nuclear powers and not signatories to the NPT. Israel, is a undisclosed member of the nuclear club. It has become increasingly difficult to join the nuclear club, and especially so for a developing country. North Korea is now a member of the nuclear club". Indeed, a fallout of North Korea's nuclear test is that a number of developing nations might follow suit. Even if there is strong international condemnation for North Korea's nuclear test, it is highly unlikely that the international community will impose sanctions on North Korea. China, Russia and South Korea are most certainly going to oppose the imposition of sanctions. China and Russia are veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council. China and South Korea have extensive trade and economic relations with Pyongyang. Neither the Chinese nor the South Koreans want to see a further deterioration in the North Korean economy which is currently in shambles. China and South Korea fear that if there are further economic troubles in North Korea, a deluge of refugees would cross their borders and create instability in the region. Both China and South Korea have a vested interest in propping up the North Korean economy -- and they would do so regardless of Pyongyang's nuclear tests. Russia, too, would like to see a prosperous North Korea -- the country borders one of Russia's most economically dynamic and resource-rich regions -- the Russian Pacific zone. North Korea is a country with economic potential and its neighbours realise the fact all too well. Ali Islam, head of the Nuclear Energy Authority, explained that Egypt's nuclear programme is radically different from that of North Korea. Pyongyang has made no bones about its programme being military but Egypt insists it only wants nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. One indicator to guage prospects over the international sanctions is the reactions of the Chinese, Russian and South Korean officials in the aftermath of the North Korean nuclear blasts. Although strongly-worded statements were issued, they fell short of threatening economic sanctions. Meanwhile, a desire for increased development aid, trade and economic assistance has been the main engine behind North Korea's desire to detonate a nuclear bomb. Observers note that Pyongyang wants to be taken seriously and being a nuclear power is one way of focussing world attention on its economic mess.
