End game for the Korean Peninsula

Over the last month the media has led the world to believe that North Korea, the United States and South Korea are standing eyeball to eyeball on the brink of war.

Secretary Kerry’s comments after meeting with his Chinese opposites State Councilor Yang Jiechi, and Foreign Minister Yang Yi, and later President Xi Jinping, and Premier Li Keqiang were guarded. However, upon arrival in Tokyo Kerry reiterated his call to North Korea to denounce nuclear weapons before six party talks could be resumed. It looked like Secretary Kerry had fired the last shot in anger.hen for a few days with the Boston Marathon bombing, not a story could be found about this tense situation, as if it had just gone away. Since the Boston saga, the US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey declared that the Foal Eagle joint military exercises with South Korea will continue indefinitely. The extension of these exercises gives North Korea ‘little room to move.

Then the Chinese Chief of Staff General Fang Fenghui warned Dempsey on his visit to Beijing on April 22 that there would be another North Korean nuclear test. The media reported the movement of short range missile launchers to where the North already has Musudan medium range missiles deployed on the East Coast, where some commentators hinted of a missile firing on April 25th to commemorate the anniversary of the formation of the armed forces – which didn’t come off.

All the rhetoric and movements of hardware is part of the continuing cycle of tension the Korean Peninsula has been used to over the last 60 years. To see how any possible endgame could occur, perhaps it would be a good idea to briefly examine each party’s views and interests in this situation.