Editorials
Monday, April 21, 1997STARVATION in North Korea seems to be driving the Pyongyang regime to the negotiating table. That grim assessment is the only plausible explanation for North Korea's edging toward four-nation talks on a peace treaty for the Korean War to replace the truce agreement -- after years of refusing to deal with South Korea. Prodding North Korea
to the negotiating table"North Korea is desperate for food now. It can't afford walking away from the question of peace talks and delay relief supplies," said Kim Hak-joon, former presidential policy adviser in Seoul and now the dean of the University of Inchon.
Robert Gallucci, a former assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, who negotiated the 1994 nuclear pact with North Korea, agrees. Gallucci discussed Korean policy at a luncheon here last week.
The nuclear deal was vital, he said, because North Korea was developing the capacity to produce enough plutonium to make 30 nuclear weapons a year -- a frightening prospect. The U.S. was determined to prevent that, if necessary by force but preferably by negotiation.
The resulting deal was signed in October 1994 after a visit by former President Jimmy Carter with the late President Kim Il-sung that apparently broke an impasse in negotiations. The situation had deteriorated to the point, Gallucci said, that the Clinton administration was considering calling up the armed forces reserves.
Although North Korea has threatened to cancel the nuclear agreement, Gallucci seemed confident that it would hold, because its benefits for the North -- provision of fuel oil for electric power generation and the construction of two light-water nuclear reactors -- are so valuable that the impoverished regime could not afford to lose them.
Gallucci said it was important for Washington to maintain a strong military presence in South Korea to impress the North Koreans that an invasion of the South could not succeed.
He pointed to a need to dispel suspicions in South Korea that the U.S. does not fully support its goal of reunification with the North.
Negotiation of a peace treaty would be a major step toward ending the confrontation between the two Koreas and achieving reunification without violence. To realize that, Washington must retain the full confidence of our allies in South Korea.
A watchdog of the people needs feeding. The Tax Foundation of Hawaii, a 44-year-old privately funded organization that provides independent economic analyses, is in danger of starving to death in a hungry economy. Its demise would silence a respected voice on tax and budget issues when it is needed the most. Residents and businesses wary about the penchant to increase government spending should send a contribution the foundation's way. A taxing situation
SEN. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., had been blocking a vote on the chemical weapons treaty but relented when the Senate agreed to take up his proposed amendments, which would prevent U.S. participation in implementing the pact. Among them are provisions to withhold U.S. approval until other nations known to have chemical weapons sign on and worldwide compliance is guaranteed. Helms' amendments are mischievous and should be defeated. Chemical weapons
Rupert E. Phillips, CEO
John M. Flanagan, Editor & Publisher
David Shapiro, Managing Editor
Diane Yukihiro Chang, Senior Editor & Editorial Page Editor
Frank Bridgewater & Michael Rovner, Assistant Managing Editors
A.A. Smyser, Contributing Editor
