Koreas on hair-trigger alert
South Korea’s top intelligence official said there was “a high possibility” that North Korea would soon launch a fresh attack on the South.
The U.S. and South Korea concluded four days of joint naval exercises in the Yellow Sea this week, while the government of North Korea warned that “the danger of war is mounting.” Underscoring that threat, South Korea’s top intelligence official said there was “a high possibility” that North Korea would soon launch a fresh attack on the South. The U.S. and South Korea balked at China’s call for six-party talks with Pyongyang, saying that talks now would merely reward the North for last week’s artillery attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong. “We want to get out of this cycle where they act up and we talk,” said an Obama administration official.
State Department cables obtained by WikiLeaks suggest that China is frustrated with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il’s regime, which officials deride as a “spoiled child.” The cables suggested that Washington, Seoul, and Beijing were all preparing for the North’s eventual collapse, followed by the reunification of the two Koreas. But China, which is widely regarded as the only nation that can influence the North, has refrained from publicly condemning last week’s assault, which killed four and wounded 18.
It’s time to abandon the fantasy that China will “yank Pyongyang’s chain when it misbehaves,” said Peter Brookes in the New York Post. The more trouble “the nettlesome North” stirs up, the less time Washington has to “focus on China’s rise.” Still, China can’t let the standoff escalate into war, said The Detroit News in an editorial. Washington must remind Beijing that its “lucrative trade with the West” will be jeopardized if it doesn’t behave responsibly.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
![https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516-320-80.jpg)
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It’s not about us, said B.R. Myers in The New York Times. We must shake the “America-centric perception that everything Kim Jong Il does is aimed at eliciting a reaction from Washington.” That view feeds the delusion that with the right mix of carrots and sticks, “North Korea will play nice.” In fact, Kim “can never play nice.” Just as our “economy-first” government must deliver growth to remain in power, his “military-first regime” must display constant aggression or “lose all reason to exist.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Sing Sing review: prison drama bursts with 'charm, energy and optimism'
The Week Recommends Colman Domingo plays a real-life prisoner in a performance likely to be an Oscars shoo-in
By The Week UK Published
-
China-Africa summit 2024: the tactics on both sides
The Explainer African nations seek more flexible approach from Beijing to relieve crippling 'debt distress'
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Kaos review: comic retelling of Greek mythology starring Jeff Goldblum
The Week Recommends The new series captures audiences as it 'never takes itself too seriously'
By The Week UK Published
-
The final fate of Flight 370
feature Malaysian officials announced that radar data had proven that the missing Flight 370 “ended in the southern Indian Ocean.”
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
The airplane that vanished
feature The mystery deepened surrounding the Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared one hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
A drug kingpin’s capture
feature The world’s most wanted drug lord, Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, was captured by Mexican marines in the resort town of Mazatlán.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
A mixed verdict in Florida
feature The trial of Michael Dunn, a white Floridian who fatally shot an unarmed black teen, came to a contentious end.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
New Christie allegation
feature Did a top aide to the New Jersey governor tie Hurricane Sandy relief funds to the approval of a development proposal in the city of Hoboken?
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
A deal is struck with Iran
feature The U.S. and five world powers finalized a temporary agreement to halt Iran’s nuclear program.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
End-of-year quiz
feature Here are 40 questions to test your knowledge of the year’s events.
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
Note to readers
feature Welcome to a special year-end issue of The Week.
By The Week Staff Last updated