Kim Jong-un, the leader of North Korea, wanted to prove to the world his power. His ambition was to go nuclear come what may and it has forced world leaders to take him seriously. He wanted to get their attention and, having done that, he now wants to see how far he can stretch the advantage. He has already agreed to have a summit with Donald Trump which is expected to pave the way to peace in the region.
New York Post reports that he took exception to the ongoing US military exercises with South Korea and Japan in the Korean peninsula. These involve nuclear-capable B-52 bombers and Kim threatened to cancel ongoing talks with the South if these were not canceled. In order to avoid escalation of tension, the US has canceled the B-52 program
Other irritants
The problems began when National Security Advisor John Bolton indicated that North Korea must denuclearize completely. Kim Jong-un retorted by threatening to pull out of the summit with Donald Trump in Singapore on June 12. The US President tried to dilute the issue by disapproving of what Bolton had said.
Petty remarks of this nature are causing bottlenecks to what should have been smooth sailing. The world wants to have peace with the hermit kingdom and create a new formula between Pyongyang, Seoul and Washington, DC.
Kim had said there would be transparency when the nuclear test site would be dismantled. He said that he will permit international group of journalists to be present to witness the process. However, he has now barred South Korea from joining the team of journalists.
Another issue the leader has added is that Seoul return the North Korean women defectors who had come to the South in 2016 from China. Pyongyang feels that their return will improve bi-lateral ties between the North and the South.
However, according to Seoul, the women do not want to go back but want to stay in the South. The reasons could be the inhuman conditions in labor camps in the North where women are subjected to various types of indignities.
It is a burning issue
The world has two leaders who are unpredictable. Their verbal duels had precipitated a situation where people rushed to buy bomb shelters, got trained on precautions to be taken in case of a sudden nuclear attack and got the sirens tested for serviceability. At the height of tensions, Kim Jong-un identified a number of probable US targets and the world geared up to face the worst.
However, thanks to the initiative taken by Moon Jae-in, president of South Korea, the leader of North Korea has agreed for a summit which will be held in Singapore with Donald Trump. Peace is the need of the hour and both the sides must work in unison to ensure success of the summit.