THE clouds of war are gathering over the Korean peninsula with each successive missile and nuclear test by North Korea. The series of economic sanctions slapped against North Korea by the UN Security Council do not seem to have worked; rather these have infuriated North Korea into carrying out more and more such tests. China, accounting for 90pc of North Korean imports through its own terriotory, has obviously the most leverage to influence North Korea.

Although China has been criticising the tests and often supporting the Security Council sanction in this regard, it also maintains that there is a limit to the efficacy of these measures. What North Korea needs to be assured of by the world at large is the real sense of security, peace and prosperity for the country and its people. Such an assurance is required particularly from the US and North Korea’s neighbours like South Korea and Japan.

One such step for achieving this goal, in the words of the Chinese leaders, is to stop in South Korea military drills and the idea of redeployment of its nuclear arsenal to target its northern neighbour, and put a halt to US-South Korea joint military excercises. In response, North Korea would abandon or at least decelerate these tests till a comprehensive settlement is reached.

However, looking at the technological advancement of North Korea, as manifested by its over a dozen missile and half a dozen of nuclear tests, one feels deeply sorry that its people are yet amongst the poorest of the poor in the world.

In Pakistan people wish the people of North Korea, along with its southern brothers, to begin an era of peace and prosperity, which they are capable of, and avoid plunging the world into a nuclear war, which it will be if North Korea and its adversaries, particularly the US, choose not to halt their existing slide to a war.

Saghir Khan

Karachi

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2017