The North Korea Shuffle - Time to Calm Down Again?

After all of the mess that they’ve made so far, North Korea has finally hit the last predictable stage of their international threat-making shenanigans.  They’ve come out and told the world that they’re ready to start talking again.  In addition to the standard 6-party talks agreement, they also appear to be looking at renewing ties with an irate South Korea.  But will the offers be enough to get everyone to agree to what has become a very tired repetition of events?

First and foremost, they’ve said that the six-party talks are agreeable to them.  Of course, they’ve said time and again that they’re unwilling to stop with their current nuclear program, so whether they’ll take them seriously is another thing entirely.  More than likely, they’ll be looking at trying to get people to accept their nuclear ambitions.  And there’s always the possibility that they’ll just play along for a bit and then walk out as they did during the last talks.

Secondly, the DPRK has decided to offer up a formal peace treaty with South Korea.  This is actually a new move, as the two countries have relied in the past upon the armistice agreement that came about following the Korean War.  That agreement says that the two countries are still formally at war, and so a transition from one state to another would actually be a step forward.  Though whether this would change the way the North treats the South during its fits of rage is seriously in doubt.  It could be that a formal peace treaty would be nothing more than a change in wording.

And finally, it’s back to business as usual between the North and the South.  The DPRK wants to reopen the Kaesong Industrial Complex, their joint business venture with the South.  This is an essential move and no doubt the North has already felt the pinch in their economy from when they closed it months back.  Of course, the businesses in the South that are contributing to this program of peace may be fed up at this point, considering the repeated loss of profits they’ve been forced to endure.  So far, South Korea has remained irate and rejected the North’s proposal on the complex.

Will all this pandering lead to something new in the future?  Or are we really just looking at yet another cycle of yelling-to-begging from the North Korean government?  Personally, I’d really like to see something change, but my faith in the rogue state is virtually non-existent.

Six-party talks table layout courtesy of Denelson83 via Wikicommons