As Iranian sanctions are beginning to bite back, as everyone associated with the oil game had prognosticated, the US is now eying to play dear godfather in the Korean Peninsula. It’s a quagmire that the US is throwing the entire global economy through the Iran episode, as the banks that now face difficulty dealing with Iran would vouch for. And now another episode on the other flank of the Asian realm is ensuring that the region becomes more volatile day by day.
After China categorically stated its intention of a ‘strong retaliation’ against any strike on Iran, Pyongyang’s unyielding stance on their upcoming satellite launch – that has faced a lot of unnecessary hullabaloo from the US and its chums – is threatening to throw a very nasty cat among some extremely vulnerable pigeons. With the launch scheduled for April 12 through to April 16 the Kwangmyongsong-3 satellite is all set to nourish the paranoia of president Barack Obama and that of his good friend Lee Myung-bak, South Korean president.
Just like Iran’s uranium enrichment programme is apparently a shoo-in to destroy the whole mighty universe by metamorphosing into a nuclear bomb making spree, North Korea’s missile launch is also ostensibly being designed as a pretext to expand their very own programme of nuclear terrorism. If there ever is an SI unit designed to measure the degree of paranoia – and I think the world needs one – that a particular entity can muster inside their existence, the level being flaunted by the US and its good friends might just be used to define the upper extreme of that paranoia gauge. I mean North Korea has even tried to assure the transparency of their space programme to the international community NASA and even the Japanese Exploration Agency have both declined the offer that could well, settle the dispute. And what’s more Japan has even announced the extension of unilateral sanctions on North Korea for another year!
This satellite follows 2009’s launch of Kwangmyongsong-2, which fell into the Pacific Ocean in April of that year. And just like the present day brain fade, the US, Japan and South Korea had labeled that launch as an opportunity to test technology, which would eventually transform into a potential intercontinental ballistic missile. That move was followed by a UN Security Council’s statement that condemned the launch, which in turn led to Pyongyang withdrawing from the Six Party Talks.
Ever since North Korea announced its readiness for “total war” in February the level of apprehension in Seoul and Tokyo has skyrocketed, and every Pyongyang manoeuvre is being monitored under scrutiny glasses. And what Obama basically is doing is that he’s capitalising on the instability of the Korean Peninsula to strengthen his own re-election campaign. The fact that Pyongyang wants international experts to monitor the launch of Kwangmysong-3 satellite connotes that North Korea wants to showcase its peaceful intentions – and this step must be acknowledged even by the most paranoid of Pyongyang’s adversaries. The US however, needs to marginalise North Korea to contain the expansion of Chinese influence in the region and hence, is simply refusing to showcase its grey cells of logic. Nevertheless, it is pretty obvious that Obama is making a mockery of US foreign policy, and one would feel the US citizens are smart enough to see through it before the elections.
The writer is Sub-Editor, Pakistan Today. He can be reached at khulduneshahid@gmail.com