Sanctions, diplomacy necessary to bring DPRK back to negotiations

ON WEDNESDAY, the 15-nation UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution to impose harsh sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in response to its recent nuclear test and satellite launch. DPRK leader Kim Jong-un responded by ordering its nuclear weapons be ready for use at any time. Measures must be taken to address the political confrontation between the United States and the DPRK, and end the Cold War on the Korean Peninsula, said haiwainet.cn:

Despite strong opposition from the international community, Pyongyang conducted a fourth nuclear test two months ago. However, the tough UN sanctions, which broaden the scope of financial sanctions and the scope of the arms embargo, once again, point to the fact that developing nuclear weapons will not get the country anywhere near its diplomatic ambitions.

Notably, China and the US have very different stances on how the sanctions should be used to correct the DPRK's behavior, especially the DPRK's nuclear ambitions, and the UN's role in seeking a peaceful solution.

Washington has long resorted to sanctions when dealing with global political clashes, and these have worked in some previous instances. But the truth is that all successful reconciliations are essentially a result of a variety of political consensuses rather than one-sided sanctions alone.

That the US and Cuba put an end to their decades-long diplomatic standoff last year has a lot to do with the US seeking to improve ties and the announcement it would end its sanctions against the country. This, to some extent, was an acknowledgment by Washington that the sanctions had failed.

Likewise, the US has repeatedly requested all the economic ties between the DPRK and other countries be cut, and blamed China for offering financial aid to the DPRK. Such an approach might force Pyongyang to revise its nuclear policy, but it would also bring about a humanitarian crisis on the peninsula.

That explains why the fresh UN sanctions stress that the measures are not intended to "have adverse humanitarian consequences for the civilian population of the DPRK"; instead they are aimed at limiting the country's nuclear capabilities through political dialogues.

Whether these resolutions will produce some results depends not only on Pyongyang's response, but also the policies other relevant parties take. The fundamental issue is a political one, the Cold War-like long-term confrontation between the US and the DPRK. It thus requires Washington to push for the resumption of the Six-Party Talks, a multilateral dialogue mechanism to seek a peaceful solution to the nuclear issue, not the other way round.