How Should International Society Confront North Korea? - By Yongkun Lee

 Imagine ear-splitting noise shaking the body, bomb splinters flying over the head, soldiers bleeding and dead bodies lying all around the ground. Listen to the agonizing cries of the dead soldiers’ families. Death is coming right around the corner and nobody knows who the next target is. “I wish that this was all just a dream. I want to wake up in my bed, and over breakfast, I’d tell you that I had a strange dream. Then I would go to school, and you and mom would go to work.” Wonbin, a Korean actor, says in a movie named “Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War.” A real war between the two Koreas would be too drastic to explain fully.

It has not been long since I became aware of the serious relationship between South and North Korea. I watched the movie “Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War” about three years ago, and was reminded that the war has not yet ended. A year later, I visited the DMZ (Korean Demilitarized Zone) as a part of my middle school trip. I learned that a small attack or an incident can lead to irreversible consequences in the small peninsula. Recently, numerous unwanted events have occurred and caused the international atmosphere extremely unstable. Thus, a careful and softer approach is required for the peace of the two Koreas and the international society.

Harsh restrictions or sanctions against North Korea lead situations to be tense. Although the North Korean government has committed human rights infringements, and does not cooperate with the international society, North Korea still possesses sovereignty. Other countries are not justified for intervening with North Korea’s internal affairs. In the perspective of North Korea, interfering with its right to develop necessary technology violates its basic rights as a country. The western powers give pressure, sometimes attacking the country economically, politically, and even militarily. To stop other countries’ attempt to invade North Korea, it needs to find appropriate means of protection – developing weapons. Respect to North Korea’s independence would alleviate the wrangle between North Korea and the international society.

Around two years ago, I visited one of the four incursion tunnels which were created by North Korea to cross the DMZ. North Korea dug four tunnels that are longer than 1000m and 150m deep below the ground. The tunnels are now all blocked by several layers of thick concrete. Visiting the tunnels, I thought that if North Korea is determined to attack South Korea, it would use any possible method as it had constructed the tunnels. As North Korea has been obtaining technology through experiments to fight against major powers of the world, a small dispute may bring aggravated results. Hence, not stimulating North Korea to attack other countries has become significant. To achieve this goal, conciliatory policies, rather than sanctions or opposition against North Korea, are required.

             Some people say that harsh sanctions need to be implemented to prevent North Korea from carrying out further hazardous measures. However, a current event tells us that this approach does not solve the problems related to North Korea. On 6^th of March, North Korea announced that it was going to revoke armistice between Southand North Korea on 11^th of March. The truce signed on the 27thof July, 1953 has been in effect for the past 60 years, and prevented more wars between the two Koreas. North Korea said that the cause for the decision is the restrictions by the U.N. about the nuclear power test. It also pointed the united military training of the U.S. and South Korea as another major motivation for the announcement. North Korea, moreover, claimed that it is going to attack a country with its nuclear power. It also strongly suggested many international organizations to leave the country, saying the safety of them andsome foreign embassies will not be guaranteed beginning from 10^th of April.

What we can learn from North Korea’s behavior is that threatening, punishing, and controlling North Korea are not appropriate routes to fix problems. If countries apply more stress and pressure on North Korea, we cannot rule out the possibility of another war. It is time for the world to accept North Korea’s position and values which are little different from the others. In the trip to the DMZ, I had a chance to view a North Korean town by using binoculars. The town was not a gathering place of “evil”, but a typical suburban town that I could imagine. The farmhouses were dilapidated though. North Koreans are suffering from famine while the government is investing enormous amount of money on modern technology. International society should interact with North Korea by touching some fundamental issues of humanity rather than the North Korean legitimacy of government policies. In other words, treating North Korea as a companion, not as an enemy, is necessary for peace and stability.

Active debate about suitable solutions is going on between South Korean politicians. Before I had the two experiences mentioned above, honestly, I had somewhat idealized “war” as an “exciting” event.  However, violent and explicit scenes in “Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War” and the desperateness in the film destroyed my misconception. On the middle school trip, we also received a simplified military training lesson at a camp about an hour from the DMZ area. Although the training for us was a shortened and easy version of the real one, it was extremely difficult. I felt for the first time that a real war would be painful “torture” rather than a thrilling “sport”. Now, I personally feel that the international society should use soft policies towards North Korea. Spurring North Korea through military actions would only increase the chance of violence. Even if the government continues to possess a rigid view on North Korea, it should endeavor to avoid the littlest fight at all costs. It is time to start an intelligent dialogue about how to deal with existential threats to the rest of the world from North Korea without going to war and with minimal risk.