Action urged to end Washington-Pyongyang standoff
A former defence secretary under Bill Clinton has called for immediate action to prevent the US and North Korea slipping toward war.
Writing in The Washington Post on Tuesday, William Perry said the US was “losing control” of the security crisis on the Korean peninsula.
He forecasted war could break if terrorists bought lethal weaponry from the reclusive communist state and pinpointed a US city for an attack.
Mr Perry made preparations for military strikes on Pyongyang’s nuclear facilities in 1994, but a last minute deal was signed to minimise the threat. But North Korea went back on its word last October and withdrew from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Mr Perry’s warning comes as North Korea said last week it completed reprocessing 8,000 spent fuel rods, a step along the way to making plutonium. It is thought North Korea could build six extra nuclear weapons if the story is true.
With this in mind, Mr Perry wrote: “I have thought for some months that if the North Koreans moved toward processing, then we are on a path toward war.”
Though Asian leaders continue to press Pyongyang to embrace five-way diplomatic talks with ally China, South Korea, Japan and the US, Mr Perry said evidence supporting the efficacy of the policy was severely lacking. “The diplomatic track, as nearly as I can discern, is inconsequential.”
He said a policy of diplomatic ‘coercion” was necessary – stern words backed by strong force.
He added: “My theory is the reason we don’t have a policy on this, and we aren’t negotiating, is the president himself. I think he has come to the conclusion that Kim Jong Il is evil and loathsome and it is immoral to negotiate with him.”
Separately, Chinese envoys are having talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il in a bid to find a way beyond the current impasse.
