The same weekend the United Nations' Security Council unanimously decided to impose sanctions on North Korea in response to its alleged Oct. 9 nuclear test, some leading experts on East Asian issues took a historical approach in debating the future of North Korea and the region at the UW-Madison Nuclear Security in Northeast Asia Workshop.A
""What we've done here—something you can't do in general—is bring these multiple points of view together for considered analysis, not just sound bytes,"" said UW-Madison history professor Jeremy Suri, who organized the discussions, held in the UW law building.
Suri said the workshop had been planned for a while, but took on special urgency after North Korea's alleged nuclear weapon test Oct. 9.
The U.N. Security Council passed Resolution 1718 Saturday, essentially barring the nation from developing its nuclear arsenal further or receiving luxury goods.
The workshop speakers said policymakers need to study Korea's history before making decisions for its future, rather than constantly putting out fires and conflicts as they arise, Suri said.
""North Korea's behavior is very predictable,"" said UW-Madison Japanese professor Sung Chull Kim, stressing the country's shift to ""military-forced politics"" and recent East Asian political shifts as the cause of the country's nuclear build-up and testing.
""It's typical brinkmanship that the North Koreans have done in the past, but it carries a distinct greater weight than in the past, because we're talking about nuclear weapons,"" University of Chicago professor Bruce Cumings said.
North Korea's ambassador Pak Gil Yon said Saturday at the UN conference that he rejected the resolution and that any further U.S. pressure would be considered a declaration of war.
Cumings said he does not think the United States will engage in a war in East Asia because so many of its troops are deployed in Iraq,
though he said the test was a ""gift"" to the U.S.'s national security policy and willingness to take action in East Asia.
He said Friday he thought the international community would agree on imposing sanctions on North Korea, but China's and Russia's interests in North Korea will prevent the sanctions from ""cutting too deeply.""
UW-Madison political science professor Ed Friedman told the audience he thinks China will work hard to keep Japan from building up a military and obtaining nuclear weapons and the United States from democratizing North Korea.
""It's only the beginning of what could be a very serious global crisis,"" Friedman said, adding this will cause China and all other countries involved to try to work together to prevent an arms race or war.
