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By Michael Raletic, CTV.ca News
While it's not definitely known whether North Korea has actually produced a working nuclear bomb, there's no doubt the rogue Stalinist state is a player in the high-stakes game of nuclear geopolitics.
Tensions on the Korean Peninsula have been simmering since the end of the Korean War in 1953, but the situation came to a boil most recently when U.S. President George Bush included the North in the now infamous "axis of evil."
In his January, 2002, State of the Union address, Bush warned that North Korea -- along with Iraq and Iran -- posed a "grave and growing danger" due to its pursuit of weapons of mass destruction.
Later that year the world took notice when North Korea reactivated its main nuclear facilities at Yongbyon and kicked a United Nations monitoring team out of the country.
Nuclear club
The fact that North Korea has aspirations to join the world's nuclear powers is no secret. In the past, Pyongyang has successfully played the nuclear card exacting desperately needed concessions and aid from Washington.
In 1993, the North withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty amid speculation it was preparing to ramp up its weapons development program.
But it quickly reversed the decision after striking a treaty with the U.S. Pyongyang promised to end missile tests and forego any nuclear aspirations in exchange for fuel oil and two nuclear power plants.
The light-water reactors would provide electricity, but would be difficult to utilize in the production of nuclear material. President Bill Clinton later eased economic sanctions against the North.
A situation that could have easily escalated into a military confrontation was diffused. It would only later come to light that Clinton had seriously considered ordering a cruise missile strike against the Yongbyon facility.
Such a move might have set North Korea's nuclear program back years, but Clinton decided to err on the side of caution given the real dangers of a preemptive strike in the region.
U.S. 'regime change'
Political success by Republican hawks in the U.S. Congress meant the Clinton-era agreement with the North met resistance.
There were delays in building the nuclear power plants for which the North demanded compensation. Nuclear sabre rattling was heard once again across the Korean Peninsula -- and in Washington.
The North's demands fell on deaf ears with the inauguration of George Bush to the presidency in early 2001 and Pyongyang was temporarily relegated to the back burner in the wake of Sept. 11 and the war in Afghanistan.
Later, Bush's "axis of evil" speech ratcheted up the rhetoric and the North eventually admitted it had restarted its nuclear weapons program and withdrew from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
North Korean missile tests over the Sea of Japan followed shortly afterwards, with U.S. intelligence officials warning the Senate that Pyongyang was capable of striking the western United States.
The 'Bush Doctrine'
In the wake of Sept. 11, U.S.-led wars in Afghanistan and Iraq marked a sharp turn in U.S. foreign policy. Bush repeatedly articulated the notion that his administration would not wait for potential threats to develop but would take preemptive action.
The so-called Bush Doctrine and a hunt for alleged weapons of mass destruction led U.S. forces to Baghdad and the overthrow of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
But, the White House has tread a fine line when it comes to North Korea and repeatedly insisted its admitted nuclear weapons program is a diplomatic issue.
The North has pressed for one-to-one talks with the U.S. and been cool towards a multilateral approach favoured by the White House.
Bush has consistently maintained the North must back off its nuclear program before talks can begin as the U.S. cannot be seen to be rewarding Pyongyang's nuclear threat with humanitarian aid it desperately needs. |
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