IFMR Digest Sep 2017

STUDENT ARTICLE
It’s Cold out there..
Countless caveats, a United Nations embargo on
trade and nine missile tests in this year, the
definition of “cold war” has changed with the soring
relation between the United States and North
Korea. With each defiant step of this recluse state’s
ballistic missile test, the temperature of this cold
war is rising. Global imperial capitalist United
States and the autocratic state North Korea, it
won’t be superfluous to say that universal peace or
order is depending upon these two nation’s
calculations of Sharpe ratio.
Though juxtaposing these nations name brews
fresh pot boilers, let us turn towards a neutral
ground to get a holistic picture.1948 was a new
start for Korea as Democratic people’s republic of
Korea. It ended with South Korea’s declaration of
independence, which subsequently led to North
Korea’s invasion and the Korean war. Global
forces acted decisively and in 1953 armistice ends
the war. In 1955 US entered into war with Vietnam
or more specifically Northern Vietnamese
communist forces which lasted for almost 20 years.
Communist countries, though unable to support
straight-out their political ally, were on the side of
Northern Vietnamese forces, the capture of the
USS Pueblo by North Korea on 1968 could also be
interpreted as an act of allies in this context.
Though the evidences of hostility are abundant,
these nations tried to come to an agreement in
1999, after 5 rounds of bilateral talks North Korea’s
obduracy prevailed. It demanded 1 billion annually
from US for halting its missile exports, which is
construed as unfeasible in US diplomatic parlance.
In 1970 USSR worked jointly with this state in its
first long range ballistic missile Programme.
Enriched with almost 200 types of mineral North
Korea is considered as the peninsular mineral hub,
on the other hand the arid lands of the state
compels to it to depend upon imports to some
extent for comestibles. US has maintained a policy
of ‘strategic patience’ or ‘benevolent neglect policy’
towards the monarchy for last 7-8 years. In practice,
it meant US pretended that the country pretended
that the country does not exist. In this mean time
the arsenal size of North Korea increased to almost
20. The growth can’t be taken in absolute terms
because a country with 20 nuclear weapons is not 4
times more dangerous than a country with 5 nuclear
weapons. US’ terms of negotiation that is ‘complete,
verifiable and irreversible denuclearization’ is not
achievable.
What North Korea is looking for is Nuclear
Diplomacy, it is ready to negotiate a freeze imposed
on its nuclear weapons development as a quid pro
quo for a significantly large political or/and financial
aid. For Kim dynasty nuclear deterrent is a red line,
and it is undoubtedly ‘the bargaining chip’ for them.
Decades of rigid state controlled system had led to
stagnation and a leadership dependsent on the cult
personality. The state also stands accused of for
systematic human rights violation. Detention of
foreign citizens (mainly reporters) is a recurrent
event, the recent detention of Tony Kim, a US
citizen added fuel to this. A vet and a militant vying
for supremacy, spectators speculating and
humanity shivering for the looming repercussions of
this game of thrones.
-Swarnendu Biswas
19