Reelected U.S. President Barack Obama is wasting no time turning his new diplomatic initiative of ``pivot to Asia” into reality.
One of Obama’s key objectives is to reshape the G2 relationship to the best of U.S. interests through cooperation and competition. So it seems natural he is visiting one of the two Asian countries that maintain closest relationship with China, and extending an olive branch to the other.
Myanmar and North Korea are both ruled by dictators, heavily rely on China, economically and militarily, and have nurtured nuclear ambitions. The former is changing but the latter has yet to show any such signs.
``To the leadership of North Korea, I have offered a choice: let go of your nuclear weapons and choose the path of peace and progress. If you do, you will find an extended hand from the United States of America,” Obama said in Yangon. ``We don’t need to be defined by the prisons of the past. We need to look forward to the future.”
North Korean leaders might find little new in the U.S. leader’s proposal, which basically premises Pyongyang abandonment of nuclear programs.
But the remark deserves attention as it was the first official comment Obama made on the isolationist regime since February when the North launched long-range missiles, throwing any diplomatic progress into an instant standstill. The wording even raises hopes the U.S. is finally shifting from ``strategic patience,” i.e., benign neglect, back to ``constructive engagement,” as the U.S. mission chief in Seoul put it.
The presumed shift in U.S. strategy could reflect the changing balance of power between Washington and Beijing to the latter’s advantage as well as America’s desire to reduce China’s leverages on its protégé. Or, as some bona fide commentators say, President Obama, newly confident and free from burdens for another term, may be about to return to its ``bold and direct” diplomacy of four years ago.
Whatever the reason, North Korea must grab this opportunity. Pyongyang blew it up four years ago, and has been paying dear prices.
There are some hopeful signs, however, given the reclusive country has sent signals of resuming dialogue ever since Obama’s reelection. The overture itself was somewhat inevitable, considering new North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has placed top priority on preventing North Koreans from tightening their already squeezed belts any further. Obama’s speech was a reply to indirect advance from Pyongyang since early this month.
The signs of thaw between the U.S. and North Korea make the role of South Korea all the more important as a bridge between them. Despite the U.S. willingness for reopening dialogue and China’s likely support for it, the two superpowers have their hands full with other diplomatic issues. And this means both Koreas can, and should, play more positive roles in the discussion that decide their fates. It is reassuring in this regard all the big-three presidential candidates here are vowing to improve inter-Korean relationship.
Of our utmost concern is who has a long-term, wide-ranged vision to open a new era on the Korean Peninsula by persuading G2 and other regional powers as well as cooperating with them. Which explains why the upcoming debates among candidates should shed some light on this vital issue.