June 20, 2006 :: The Heritage Foundation :: News
Balbina Y. Hwang, a senior policy analyst at the Heritage Foundation, argues that the U.S. must not reward North Korea’s “manipulation and brinksmanship.” By threatening to test-launch its Taep’o-dong 2 long-range missile, Pyongyang is attempting to force Washington to engage in direct bilateral talks. “The United States has been clear that all diplomatic negotiations must go through the Six-Party framework involving North Korea, the United States, South Korea, Russia, Japan, and China,” she writes. “The Bush Administration should make clear that aggressive behavior by the North Koreans will not cause the United States to alter its position.” Rather than succumbing to Pyongyang’s belligerent behavior, Washington should keep the military option on the table, and make it clear to the North Korean leadership that it will shoot down the missile with ground-based interceptors. Hwang adds that if Pyongyang goes ahead with the launch, Washington should bring North Korea’s aggression before the U.N. Security Council.
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