[imText1]It has been seen that North Korea would hold out nuclear experiments as a bargaining chip.
During a talk of 26 August, the Foreign Ministry of North Korea said that, “We will take all countermeasures against the financial sanction of the U.S”.
This talk was publicized while the U.S and China had been concerned with the possibility of the nuclear experiment appearing in Kilju, North Hamkyung province that was reported by a press.
Because of it, the majority of the experts concerned infer North Korea would urge the U.S and China to change their attitudes towards North Korea by showing the strong possibility of its nuclear experiments.
The spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry said that because the U.S has oppressed North Korea’s own ideology and institutions through the financial sanction, North Korea will take all countermeasures against the sanction.
Yet, there is no chance that the U.S will lift the financial sanction against North Korea soon.
On the day after the missile launch, the Foreign Ministry warned that, “If somebody aggresses our missile launch, we will take other sorts of strong physical actions. Everybody says at present what is stronger physical actions North Korea is able to take is nuclear experiments.
The next action that North Korea could take after the missile launch must be only one, nuclear experiment. However, the nuclear experiment itself is likely to step on the dead-line that the U.S set up. Because of it, some people say North Korea will not be able to take that action. Yet, the North Korean government has shown some signals to use the nuclear experiment as a bargaining chip in several ways.
On the same day, Chosun Shinbo, a newspaper issued by the pro-North Korean residents´ league in Japan openly warned that, “If the Bush administration takes stronger actions including military actions, we can not say nuclear experiments would be excluded from our actions”.
It was known that last month Kim Jong Il said in a conference of the legations abroad held in Pyongyang that ‘I cannot rely on China and Russia’. Such a mention shows Kim Jong Il’s resolution that even in a diplomatically isolated situation, he will not count on the two countries. This also means that he is likely to take an additional action.
Some people interpreted the talk of the Foreign Ministry as one only for China, because it came up after the rumor that China would visit to North Korea in August. In addition, as the amount of oil introduced into North Korea has declined, Kim Jong Il will take out the nuclear experiment card in order to get Chinese economic aids.
It took only one month for North Korea’s missile threat to lead to missile launch. Yet some people point out that because nuclear experiment is a more vital action than the missile launch, North Korea will not be able to make nuclear experiments. However, now because even China has closed bank accounts of North Korea, we cannot affirm that Kim Jong Il will not make nuclear experiments.
In addition, experts anticipate that as Kim Jong Il judged the six-talk could not guarantee the survival of Kim Jong Il regime, he is likely to turn quickly and hold out the nuclear experiment card.
