NK-Pakistan links
Koreatimes
Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se shouldn’t have been meek about dirty connections between North Korea and Pakistan for mutually reinforcing their nuclear weapons programs.
“The states involved should have to explain what they’re doing and why,” Yun told the National Assembly last week. “But I believe they will deny any and all allegations.” As predicted by Yun, Pakistan denied them.
Considering Pakistan’s historic ties for proliferation, Seoul should demand Karachi fully explain its deadly trade with the North by calling in its ambassador here as a first step. Also, it should get the United Nations to conduct an investigation, since what they are doing could be a direct and flagrant violation of the current toughest-ever U.N. sanctions against the North for its nuclear and missile tests.
For a situation of this gravity, Yun sounded as if he was a bystander in the matter that is directly involved in the nation’s top diplomatic priority ― winding down Pyongyang’s nuclear program. If he is overwhelmed by his recent busy schedule, he should think about passing the baton to somebody else, considering the gravity of the affair, or if there are other circumstances that prevent a more forceful reaction, he owes the nation an explanation.
According to media outlets in India, Pakistan supplied the North with materials that are connected to the development of nuclear and missile technologies. They included Monel and Inconel, alloys that are critical in the making of nuclear bombs. China’s Beijing Suntech Technology had supplied these materials to Pakistan, which sent them to the North by ship. The United States had reportedly tracked the shipments.
A forceful reaction by Seoul is called for more urgently than at any other time for a couple of reasons. First, the North is passing the critical stage of “perfecting” its mid- and long-range ballistic missiles with the acquisition of the Pakistani supplies making or breaking its end run to becoming a nuclear state.
The North achieved its first successful test of the Musudan missile, renamed “Hwasong 10,” after five previous failed attempts. This missile could be developed for mobile and submarine launches to strike not just the South but also U.S. bases in Guam. This comes after the North’s attempts to miniaturize nuclear payloads. In other words, the Pakistan-North Korea trade is not just strengthening the North’s immediate threat against Seoul but increasing the possibility of turning the Korean Peninsula into an international nuclear battlefield by provoking Washington and provoking Japan into a nuclear arms race.
Secondly, allowing this deal to go unpunished means a major setback to the elaborate efforts to isolate the North from the rest of the world, peaking with the U.N. sanctions. Already, there is growing skepticism about the effectiveness of the pressure tactic against Pyongyang, with China and Russia getting on board, if only reluctantly. The Pakistani deal could prove to be the first crack that leads to the debacle of the international effort to stem further progress in the North’s nuclear programs.
Thirdly, China should be held accountable for its deals with Pakistan, especially whether it used Pakistan as a midpoint for the goods destined for Pyongyang. If so, it would mean Beijing violated the sanctions it signed, risking its reputation as a global power.
Now, parties involved ― Pyongyang, Beijing, Tokyo and Moscow ― are no doubt looking to Seoul on how it is reacting. Yun’s meek reaction can only give them the wrong signal that Seoul couldn’t care less.