Drive for influence reaching boiling point on Korean peninsula

TEHRAN,April 15(MNA)--Pyongyang and Washington’s continued war rhetoric in recent weeks has increased the likelihood of a new confrontation on the Korean peninsula which could have serious repercussions for the international community. The United States’ frustration with the political developments in the Middle East and North Africa over the past two years has compelled Washington to shift its focus to East Asia and the Pacific. Such change of strategy is also rooted in U.S. willingness to simultaneously contain and cooperate with China as a new regional and global superpower. However, China’s continued support for North Korea has made the situation more problematic. Over the past years, the U.S. has continuously vowed to reward North Korea in case Pyongyang abandons its nuclear weapons program. However, Washington has failed to fulfill its commitments and North Korea’s recent threats are in fact a clear sign of the country’s serious anger at U.S. policies. In other words, the government of Kim Jong-un is trying to say that the U.S. should pay the price for hegemony over the region and that North Korea should be part of a deal. Commentators believe that U.S. interaction with North Korea would give China and Russia a bigger share in the power equations in the region and this clearly contradicts with the U.S. policy to contain the influence of China in East Asia and the Pacific. Pyongyang is facing two options: either it should get into war with the U.S., which could have huge repercussions not only for the country but for China, or it should retreat from its position which means it should accept U.S. calls for nuclear disarmament. However, a new military standoff between North Korea and the U.S. is very unlikely and the two sides’ continued beating on drums of war is a game for influence in which North Korea tries to gain a bigger voice in Washington’s new plans in the region. Javad Mansouri is a political analyst who formerly served as Iran’s ambassador to China. (By Javad Mansouri )