From the outset, the DPRK knew that it had to have a solid nuclear program in order to survive. Only those who have wielded nuclear power have been able to fully resist US domination. The rest have been left to languish and torment under US imperialism. For decades the DPRK put countless efforts into building a serious capability of anti-imperialist defence. Through trial and error, through suffering and the glory of achievement, the people of the DPRK now stand on the brink of total nuclear diplomacy.

It seems that the US elite is willing to acknowledge that denuclearizing the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is not an achievable goal. In the January 22nd edition of the Wall Street Journal, this sentiment was made quite clear. Johnathan Cheng has penned a post showing that there is a growing contingent within the US elite that the denuclearization process is now an impossible dream. I think this is fairly significant considering that the WSJ is a publication of elite opinion in the US. According to him, Washington DPRK experts agree that the window of opportunity to do something comprehensive about the DPRK nuclear weapons program is closed.

Here are some very telling lines: “Mr. Kim appears no more willing to give up his nuclear program than he was before engagement began more than a year ago”,  and “...some North Korea experts in Washington say it is time to face an unpleasant reality: that North Korea, having invested heavily in its nuclear program for decades, isn’t going to give up its arsenal now that it is at the finish line.“

It appears that the elite US establishment has recognized that the line has been drawn. The DPRK is on the verge of absolute power to attack the US mainland in retaliation for an invasion of its country. The unquestionable hegemony of the US, in this regard, is now over. If the US dares to strike the DPRK militarily, there will be mass deaths in the US mainland for their arrogance.

So what does the US do now that it has lost its supreme edge? The suggestion by some of the establishment elite is that it’s time to move on to management instead: “These experts recommend de-emphasizing, or even abandoning , the goal of dismantling Pyongyang’s nuclear arsenal, and instead try to manage a nuclear North Korea in hopes of preventing a miscalculation that could lead to an unwanted nuclear showdown.”

In other words, the US should seek some kind of agreed-upon ceasefire that would reduce the risk of nuclear warfare. Now they should seek a kind of nuclear treaty to prevent the spread of weapons any further. The path now seems to be a kind of nuclear détente. The US is being forced to deal with the DPRK on almost the level of an equal. This must fact must be infuriating to the likes of  National Security Advisor John Bolton, who has sought nothing but the total annihilation of the world via nuclear war.

It shows that the DPRK was right all along to seek this path of nuclear resistance to US imperialism. What has been left out of this whole equation has been the fact that the US has been the aggressor since day one. The DPRK has not sought regime change in the US, it has been the opposite. The DPRK does not place endless sanctions on the US, the opposite is the reality. The US has done nothing but commit human rights violations since the birth of the socialist republic. It is clear that the US has been the source of provocation and hostility. It should always have been the US who was being forced to denuclearize.

However, I have great concerns regarding the application of such a strategy under the presidency of Trump. Is he not now in the process of creating another nuclear arms race with Russia? Already the president has declared his intention to spend ungodly amounts of money on updating the nuclear arsenal of the US.  As it is, the US has 6,800 nuclear warheads. The president sees fit to replace and upgrade all of them. Currently, Trump is in the middle of sabotaging the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Trump is actively trying to push Russia into developing a new generation of nuclear weapons – he’s instigating a new nuclear arms race!

Add on top of this he’s already eliminated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. This deal was signed with the intention of de-incentivizing the production of nuclear weapons by Iran. The agreement was scrapped without any actual evidence of wrongdoing by Iran. To their credit, Iran has insisted upon living up to their end of the agreement promising not to develop such weaponry.

Peace with the DPRK is possible, a world without a nuclear holocaust is possible. If the US is to pursue this new strategy with the DPRK, it seems that Trump is not the man to do it.

Source: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-u-s-may-have-to-rethink-its-approach-to-north-korea-11548116339