Measured response as N. Korea ramps up tensions

Lawmakers are so far taking a measured approach to North Korea’s nuclear ambitions as the Obama administration and the United Nations Security Council work on avenues to stymie potential nuclear proliferation or an arms race in the region.

The congressional recess in some ways has offered a respite from a barrage of statements on current events, but the panels that focus on foreign affairs are not rushing into offering any reaction into how the North Korea situation should be handled.

{mosads}The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, helmed by Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.), will hold a hearing on North Korea in the coming weeks, according to a Senate source, but the nature of the hearing is yet unclear. The House Foreign Affairs panel so far has no hearings scheduled on the issue for this week, and chairman Howard Berman (D-Calif.) has not yet issued a statement on North Korea’s most recent tests.

While lawmakers appear to take a backseat on North Korea’s renewed nuclear incursions, spy satellites have captured images that appear to show an intercontinental ballistic missile being moved by train from the capital to a launch pad at Musudan-ri in the northeast of the country. The missile is thought to be a Taepodong-2, which is in theory capable of hitting U.S. soil.

North Korea launched a long-range missile over Japan in April, sparking international outcry.

The United States is pushing for a U.N. Security Council resolution that not only condemns last week’s nuclear and missile tests, but also calls for the implementation of strict sanctions against Pyongyang. But the United States still has to convince China, which exports food and energy supplies to neighboring North Korea, and Russia to agree to penalties. Russia said last week it was too early to talk about possible penalties.

This could mean a split in the Security Council, given that U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates on Saturday called for sanctions that would bring “real pain” to North Korea. Gates, participating at a security conference in Singapore over the weekend said that the United States will not accept a nuclear armed North Korea and promised to defend allies in the region.

“To say North Korea won’t use this weapon…is an illusion,” said Henry Kissinger, former President Nixon’s Secretary of State and a Nobel Prize winner.

He said on CNN Sunday that the United States and in particular China, which borders on North Korea, “must realize this is an untenable situation.” The U.S. and Chinese interests are “sufficiently” aligned, he said, not to want a nuclear arms race in East Asia.

{mosads}Kissinger added, “North Korea should not have to worry about an American military attack.”

The Obama administration this week will send senior officials to Asia to talk with leaders of South Korea, China, Japan and Russia. All are original members of the Six-Party Talks, put in place to attempt a peaceful resolution to the security concerns of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.  North Korea envoy Stephen Bosworth and Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg are traveling to Asia for talks on how to respond to North Korea’s missile tests.  

The delegation will focus on finding a consensus between the five countries on North Korea sanctions, but they are reportedly expected to spend at least some time discussing possible defensive measures the U.S. and its treaty allies might need to take. The group is also likely to visit Moscow before the end of the week.

But some regional experts are urging the Obama administration to directly engage North Korea.

“Washington must offer North Korea the promise of immediate talks under the Six Party framework on ending the state of war. This symbolic step would provide significant reassurance to Pyongyang as the North Korean regime contends with a leadership transition,” Martin Malin and Hui Zhang with the Project on Managing the Atom at the Harvard Kennedy School wrote in a Boston Globe op-ed.

“The next step should be a return to the process of disabling and then dismantling North Korea’s nuclear facilities, as agreed previously. A new roadmap that links North Korean denuclearization with the gradual delivery of concrete benefits, based on the ‘action for action’ principle, would facilitate subsequent steps,” they wrote. “Destinations on this roadmap should include security assurances, full diplomatic normalization, economic reform, and Northeast Asian security cooperation. The United States must take the first step.”