SECURITY COUNCIL IMPOSES BITING SANCTIONS AGAINST NORTH KOREA

With ‘big-brother’ China too voting with other permanent nations in the UN Security Council to tighten sanctions against the hermit country of North Korea, the lone ‘Communist’ regime under Kim Jong Un, the new leader, for conducting a nuclear test against the warnings of many countries, the country was left with the one and only option of retaliating by abrogating the ‘no-war pact’ with South Korea, its immediate neighbour, traditional rival and a bitter critic. The irate US angered over the Nuclear Test conducted by North Korea sponsored  a resolution tightening sanctions -true, if we call it ‘biting’ sanctions - along with other permanent members which was put to vote and unanimously passed, an equally angered North-Korea, in a new jerk reaction abrogated the treaty with South Korea its traditional rival, like India and Pakistan. Since the time of Kim-Il-Sung the great grandfather of the incumbent President both nations have been on a collision course since decades. The first war between the two was in 1951 which was actually launched by North Korea though Kim-Il-Sung had alleged that South Korea launched the war first. The war lasted for two years and with the mediators playing a cardinal role guns went silent on both sides of the borders and as a result ‘an armistice agreement’ was signed by the leaders of both countries. Even after signing of the treaty the hostilities between the two nations continued and occasional skirmishes were the result.

Now that the no-pact treaty being abrogated unilaterally by North Korea as a response to the South Korea’s strong protest against the nuclear test conducted by its neighbour South Korea apprehends a war being launched against it by North Korea.

An angry North Korea even went to the extent of warning the US that it would resort to a missile attack against US and with the US responding that it had already taken precautions to neutralize such a missile attack. It is another matter that according to war experts though North Korea has threatened to launch missile attacks against South Korea and US, it is still not prepared for it.

What is baffling me is North Korea which spends billions of dollars to develop its nuclear capability, it is still a poor country with millions living under poverty line. The masses are starving to death and instead of taking care of the welfare of the millions of poor, instead of concentrating on infrastructure developments, instead of providing  employment to lakhs of youth instead of making large scale and short scale investments to develop industry and  business, the nation is moving ahead with its nuclearisation programmes. The incumbent President Kim-Jong-Un is Swiss educated still he is thinking along the lines of a dictator like his father and grandfather. I wonder whether living and studying in a democratic nation like Switzerland, why couldn’t he imbibe the basic lessons of democracy from there. The streak of authoritarianism must be in his blood which he has inherited from his father  and  grandfather, North Korea still prefers to be behind the iron-curtain like during Mao-Tse-Dong’s tenure in China. China was then like a secluded castle with its doors and windows kept closed. DenG-Hsio-Ping who followed him took steps to open its doors and windows to outside world in the 1980s. Now that China after lagging behind several nations for a fairly longtime, with the assumption of office by a team of reformist leaders under Deng-Hsio-Ping, China is occupying the second place in the list of largest economies in the world.

South Korea, the traditional rival of North Korea which doesn’t keep nuclear ambitions is a fast, prospering country in South East Asia with US providing large-scale funds and investments not only by U.S. but by a number of developed and developing nations like India. It is relevant here to note that the third biggest investor country in India is South Korea. Both nations keep warm and cordial bilateral relations since years, poverty, malnutrition, women enslavement, illiteracy etc are things of the past. In other words South Korea is a defining example of a flourishing and prosperous country, and it continues to be a fast developing country. That which posing a threat to South Korea is from the perennial enemy North Korea, its immediate neighbour. We wish North Korea shed its nuclear ambitions and war- mongering and channelised its funds to the welfare of Korean citizens and adhered to peace with its neighbouring as well as other nations across the world.