Kim Jong-un appears to have modified his tactics on handling the current volatile situation in the Korean peninsula. It has declared itself as a nuclear-powered country and is trying to turn the heat on the United States.
In a letter dated September 28 and addressed to parliaments of several countries, North Korea has blamed US president Donald Trump for the current state of affairs. According to Pyongyang, Trump is determined to push the world towards a nuclear war.
Australia is one of the recipients of this letter, and the office of the Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has confirmed its receipt.
Such a letter is seen as a departure from the typical means of communication used by Pyongyang.
Declaration of a war
CNN reports that North Korea has depicted itself as the aggrieved through the letter dated September 28. In that letter, it has condemned the statement of US president Donald Trump in the United Nations General Assembly. The president had said that, in the worst case scenario, America could go the whole hog to defend itself or its allies. The choice, in that case, would be limited and Pyongyang could find itself in the line of fire.
Kim's regime interpreted this as a declaration of a nuclear war, which the United States has denied.
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has hit back saying that North Korea is trying to disturb the global stability and not the U.S.
It is the North that is threatening to fire nuclear missiles directed towards targets in the United States and its allies.
In the opinion of Julie Bishop and Malcolm Turnbull, the letter reveals the desperation that is creeping in as North Korea begins to feel the effects of sanctions and diplomatic pressure.
Workable strategies are needed
It may be recalled that the latest UN sanctions imposed on North Korea cover a whole range of products like the export of seafood and foreign labor apart from joint ventures with the country.
The United States plans to target the flow of foreign money into the country as a part of its pressure campaign.
The intention is to force Pyongyang to the negotiating table with its nuclear weapons. However, analysts are divided over whether such a strategy will work. Instead of surrendering, Kim Jong-un might concentrate on improving the performance of his weapons because those are his deterrents against any foreign invasion.
The rigid stand taken by the United States and North Korea keeps adding to the uncertainty of arriving at a workable solution to bring normalcy to the region. The world is aware of the extent of devastation from any nuclear war, and the leaders need to sink their differences and work towards defusing the situation instead of aggravating it.
