Gregory Clark — Former Japanese Diplomat Hitoshi Tanaka Fears War on Horizon

Another backgrounder on Korea.

Strategic Culture Foundation
Former Diplomat Fears War on Horizon
Gregory Clark

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The US successfully dealt with rising nuclear powers China and Russia using diplomacy under the umbrella of deterrence. No reason that this would not work with Korea, too. The US media pictures Kim Jong Un as a madman on one hand and as evil personified on the other. This makes it difficult for the US leadership to use diplomacy. 

The reality is that like all other states, North Korea has interests and it has signaled that it want to make a deal. 

A major problem is that the US imposes unacceptable conditions that are non-negotiable as a precondition for negotiations, which is a non-starter. It's time to take a different tack. One that could be be successful. This would involve giving North Korea security guarantees. That remains unacceptable to the US leadership, however, and US public opinion has been whipped up against it.

Insider Sources
Time to Deal With North Korea

John Feffer