North Korea tensions: why is there a debate about accepting Pyongyang’s nuclear state status?
- Since North Korea is unlikely to give up its weapons, accepting its nuclear programme could allow for some degree of inspection, one analyst said
- Others argue that acceptance will undermine the global non-proliferation treaty and encourage other governments to undertake nuclear ambitions
Jeffrey Lewis, an expert on nuclear non-proliferation at the US-based Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, argued earlier this month that Washington needs to contemplate the unthinkable, which is to accept that North Korea is a nuclear state.
Brad Glosserman, non-resident senior adviser at the Honolulu-based Pacific Forum, noted that North Korea’s belief that adversaries want it defenceless drives it to improve its capabilities.
“On all counts, then, it is better to acknowledge nuclear capability now,” Glosserman wrote in the Japan Times last week.
Speaking to This Week in Asia, analysts said even though accepting North Korea as a nuclear state may help manage tensions in the region, it would be impossible for Washington to accept.
Not only will the acceptance undermine the global non-proliferation treaty and encourage other countries to pursue their nuclear ambitions, it would also indicate that the US has failed in its North Korea policy, analysts added.