When the U.S. labeled North Korea as part of the "axis of evil," the Bush administration put itself in a very awkward position for any future negotiations. Zhiqun Zhu, government professor at Hamilton College, said, "How could the Bush administration expect any concessions from North Korea after openly humiliating it?" Zhu cautions that "loss of face" can be more serious in Asian views than in Western views. "To break the stalemate, it is the United States that has to make concessions to meet some of the North Korean demands," he said. He suggested the U.S. provide more food and energy for North Korea and put into writing non-aggression promises.
Zhu said, "Options like further isolation of North Korea and more sanctions are not going to work because of the reluctance from Japan, South Korea and China to cooperate. Kim Jong-il is very calculating and rational; he is not likely to terminate his nuclear programs before he is guaranteed his regime's survival."
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State James Kelly is planning to visit Korea at the end of January to negotiate resumption of "six-party" talks on North Korea's nuclear program. The "six-party" talks would involve North and South Koreas, the U. S., China, Russia and Japan. Zhu said, "It looks like China is not in the mood to take the initiative to restart the six-party talks any time soon. The United States must talk to the Chinese government privately to determine what China's intentions are."
Zhu said China will wait to see what happens in the Taiwanese election to be held in March. "If the developments in the next couple of weeks between Taiwan and U.S.-China relations become sour, the Chinese government will become less motivated to cooperate with the United States on the North Korea issue," said Zhu.
