North Korean Crisis

 

source: red24

History of North Korea

• Japan occupied Korea from 1910 to 1945. In this period, Japan tried to suppress Korean traditions.
• After the end of World War 2 and with the defeat of Japan in world war 2, the 38th parallel divided the Korean peninsula into two zones along the. The Soviet Union occupied the northern half side, and the US held the southern half.
• Korean war began in 1950 when the military of North Korea invaded the South on 25 June 1950 and swiftly ran most of the country, and this war ended in 1953 with the Korean Armistice Agreement.
• Politically, North Korea is a centralized, one-party state. According to North Korea 2016 constitution, it is a self-described revolutionary and socialist state guided by Juche Idea and Songun idea Kim Jong-Un of the Kim dynasty is the current supreme leader of North Korea.
• Geographically, North Korea lies between latitudes 37° and 43°N, and longitudes 124° and 131°E. The highest point in North Korea is Paektu Mountain and is considered a sacred place.
• Economically, North Korea has maintained one of the closed and centralized economies in the world since the 1940s. In terms of infrastructure, North Korea’s energy infrastructure is obsolete and in despair.

source: Al Jazeera

Terms to know:

Korean Demilitarized zone:-It was established as a provision of the Korean Armistice Agreement to serve as a buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea. The demilitarized zone is 250 Km long and 4 Km wide. The Korean Demilitarized Zone intersects, but it does not follow the 38^th parallel north, which was the border before the Korean War.

Korean Armistice Agreement:- It is the armistice that brought about a complete cessation of the hostilities of the Korean war. The US Army Lieutenant General William Harrison Jr., representing the United Nations Command, North Korean General Nam II representing the Korean People’s Army and the Chinese People’s Volunteer Army, signed the agreement. It was signed on 27 July 1953.

Threats North Korea poses to the neighbours:

Nuclear Threat

• Under Kim Jong II, North Korean accelerated its atomic program and developed nuclear capabilities.
• North Korea withdrew from the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2003, and it is not a member of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
• After that, North Korea tested various nuclear weapons in 2006, 2009, 2013, and 2016. Also, North Korea has demonstrated uranium enrichment capability and possesses weapon-grade Plutonium.

Chemical Weapon Threat

• There are suspicions that North Korea possesses large chemical weapon and North Korea is not a member of Chemical weapon conventions.

Other threats

• North Korea can launch medium and long-range missiles. In 2017, North Korea claimed to have successfully launched an intercontinental ballistic missile, capable of reaching even Alaska, USA.
• In December 2015, Kim Jung-Un also claimed to have thermonuclear capabilities.

India and North Korea:

• India comes right after China as North Korea’s second-biggest trade partner among all other countries that maintained trade relations with the communist state.
• After the end of the Cold War, India did not hesitate to engage with countries the west deemed problematic, including North Korea
• However, tensions have spiked on the Korean Peninsula in the past few years, with North Korean leader Jong-Un’s regime threatening the stability of the region with nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

Summit with the USA:

Two Summit took between the United States of America and North Korea

The first Trump–Kim summit was held in Singapore on 12 June 2018 and called as Singapore Summit. During the first historic delegation-level talks, Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un signed a landmark Joint statement. It was related to the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, new Peaceful relations, recovery of soldiers’ remains, and follow-up negotiations between high-level officials.

The Second Trump-Kim Summit held in February 2019 in Hanoi, Vietnam called 2019 North Korea- United states Hanoi summit or Hanoi summit. The meeting was cut short and that no agreement reached as two sides failed to narrow the difference. (US demand for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapon and a North Korea’s request for relief of sanctions)

Since their meeting, Trump has claimed that North Korea is no longer a nuclear threat. However, the observers have witnessed some movement at their nuclear sites.

How to counter nuclear threats from North Korea

• By breaking the economic lifeline of North Korea with the help of China
• It is a difficult option in the ongoing trade war era because China considers North Korea as a strategic asset to engage the USA without confronting the US directly.
• It is also a possibility that Kim Jong-un may take the nuclear path as a desperate measure.
• By doing Cyberattack, A cyber-attack can hack the missile and nuclear weapon system of North Korea and make it inoperative. For example, the US used Stuxnet against Iran anis believed to be responsible for causing substantial damage to Iran’s nuclear program.
• Peace talks with the cooperation with South Korea as was seen during recent times need to be promoted even further.
• To start it, Six-party meet that has remained in suspension since 2009 can be resumed.
• North Korea and South Korea leaders signed the Panmunjeom Declaration for peace, prosperity, and both sides should implement the Unification of the Korean peninsula in letter and spirit.

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