Five Party Talks in North Korea

Option 5: Four-party Talks

North Korea is an immediate threat, but we must remember that it is a passive one. They don’t want war with the United States, for that would inevitably lead to their destruction. The only real threat the North Korean government poses is its tendency to sell its nuclear arms to other countries and its reluctance to cooperate in diplomatic negotiations. It is in the interest of all East Asian countries to have North Korea’s nuclear weapon production brought to an end, but Japan and Russia’s participation in the talks is unnecessary. The United States should have discussions with only South Korea, North Korea, and China to make the talks more efficient and focused. This will be known as the four-party talks, and their purpose will be to limit the discussion to only the key players and will balance the playing field so that North Korea will not feel like it is being treated unfairly. Additionally, China must get more involved with the North Koreans and make a concerted effort to persuade their neighbor to stop uranium enrichment and allow foreign specialists into their country to confirm that they are doing so. China has tried to avoid talking with North Korea face to face on the subject and now is the time for China to take a definitive stance towards their ally. Finally, the Americans must pull their troops out of the Korean peninsula once clear proof of North Korea’s denuclearization is given. If North Korea feels threatened at all, they may refuse to cooperate and we will be forced back to square one. The ultimate goal of these four-party talks will be to disarm North Korea by promising aid and American troop withdrawals. War is not an option; a war in Asia benefits no one and hurts everyone. Only through diplomatic means can the United States hope to maintain peace in the Korean peninsula.
In the past, six-party talks have proved unsuccessful because North Korea felt threatened by the number of countries that were against it....