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Call off the bluff

Other nations have expressed their dismay at Pyongyang’s statement, and urged for negotiations to continue. It is strange that Tokyo has called for restraint at this time, when it is clear that restraint has not worked in the case of North Korea over the last twenty years. Each day, Pyongyang is closer to having a nuclear weapon. Japan should not take this bluff from the North any longer. Against whom will the North use its weapons? It can only be its southern neighbour or Japan, as there may not be any chance of using them against America. So, getting tough against Pyongyang is the only option for its neighbours and the United States. North Korea has of course, kept up its rhetoric, by saying that the US intention is to isolate and stifle it at any cost. For too long has the North tried to divert attention from its programme by accusing the US and trying to garner Third Word support against a ‘bullying superpower’. But it must realise that time is running out, and it cannot fool all the people all the time.

There are two reasons why action against the North is necessary. Firstly, on a humanitarian ground, 15 million North Koreans, who are like prisoners in their own country, have to be freed. What the US and its allies did in Iraq needs to be repeated in North Korea, because the situation there is worse than what it was in Iraq under Saddam. So, if the Iraqis can be freed, the North Koreans too deserve the same. Secondly, an evil regime like Pyongyang needs to be defeated. They should not be allowed to carry on their bluff any longer. It is time for the world to act against the North.