The Pyongyang Problem

We are facing a potential crisis in the Far East that I do not believe that our government -- particularly this regime -- is capable of handling.

Let's take a long look at what I am calling the Pyongyang Problem. This is an issue that has roots back to the Korean War, and unresolved issues that only recently are coming to a head.

The players are North Korea, China, South Korea, Russia, Japan and the United States. To look at this, we must go back to the 1950's.

The Korean War began when Soviet-backed North Korea invaded South Korea, nearly conquering the new nation. The United States stepped in on South Korea's side and the tide turned. Within months, North Korea was almost completely under Allied control (Britain, Canada and Australia all had soldiers fighting alongside our servicemen). The war was sure to be over.

Then the United States did one of the dumbest things we could ever have done.

Not satisfied with the North Korean retreat into China, the United States bombed North Korean hideouts in China. Enter the Chinese into the war. The Chinese entry once again turned the tide and again nearly kicked the Allied forces off the peninsula. But continued allied bombings and a brave assault beat back the Chinese/North Korean armies back. The rest of the war was fought not unlike World War I, with both sides dug in and little progress made. Throughout, the United States continuously bombed North Korea.

Finally, in 1953 the War ended. Without a treaty.

In the 1980's the Soviet Union collapsed. North Korea's strongest ally no longer existed. And China was slowly opening itself up to the West. The country went isolationist -- though threats from the regime would continue.

Meanwhile, the United States maintained a strong military presence in the region. We have been entrenched in both Japan and South Korea since the end of World War II.

Japan has historically been the aggressor in the Far East. It didn't just begin in World War II. For hundreds of years, the Koreans and Chinese have been fighting off (often unsuccessfully) the Japanese. Korea was conquered by Japan in 1910. Koreans were forced into servitude and many Korean women were made "comfort women" -- forced prostitutes for the Japanese soldiers.

Wounds like this take generations to heal.

South Korea, for its part, has only been a stable republic recently. The government was corrupt at best for several years following the Korean War.

In short, the years that the region has been "off the radar" was deceiving. In reality, something awful has been brewing all along.

Here are some facts:

• Separating a nation in two is problematical at best. It was done in Germany, and it was done in Korea. Neither time was it the right thing to do.
• Kim Jong Il is a dangerous man. He should never been allowed the access to weaponry that he has. We should fault the Russians and Chinese for this. The fact is, though, he has them.
• Japan's history is very much in everyone's mind. In addition, there is a rising nationalism in Japan. This makes China and both Koreas very wary.
• Any and all diplomatic relations with North Korea ended well before George W. Bush named them part of his "Axis of Evil". The fact is, the U.S. had stopped diplomacy after Bill Clinton left office. This is not to imply that Clinton's policy would have worked, but not negotiating with a dangerous country is far worse than at least talking.
• North Korea has the fourth largest military in the world. And though ours is technically larger, we have so many soldiers in Iraq, we cannot defend South Korea and Japan. We simply lack the manpower.
• China holds veto power in the United Nations. They are North Korea's provider of food and provisions. They are also well aware that Japanese nationalism and economic power is a far greater threat to them than North Korea is.
• Russia, still the second largest nuclear power, sits right around the corner from the Korean peninsula. And the Russian government and situation is not stable.

Yes, we have a real problem on our hands. The firing of the missiles is only a foreshadowing of what is to come.

It is still two and a half years before we have a new President -- one who perhaps understands and values diplomatic relations.

I worry that may be too late.