THE HINDU Editorial Vocabulary-June 24, 2017- Topic 2
Engaging Pyongyang: On US-North Korea relations
The tragic death of Otto Warmbier,
the 22-year-old American student who was imprisoned and later released while in
a state of coma by North Korea, is a huge setback to hopes for dialling down
tensions between Washington and Pyongyang. The Korean crisis has worsened since
President Donald Trump took office early this year. North Korea test-fired a
number of missiles in defiance of international pressure, while the United
States issued repeated warnings.
Mr. Trump had put pressure on Beijing to rein
Pyongyang in, and even praised it for its efforts. But the pressure does not
seem to be working, with North Korea continuing with its nuclear missile
programme. This was the backdrop to the release of Warmbier. He was arrested in
Pyongyang in January 2016 while visiting as part of a tour group and later
sentenced to 15 years of hard labour for the “hostile act” of trying to steal a
propaganda poster. Within a few days of his release he died. The fallout in the
U.S. is predictably charged. The Trump administration has flayed the North
Korean regime for Warmbier’s death, but stopped short of calling for more
sanctions or issuing new threats. This may be because three other Americans are
still imprisoned in North Korea, and Washington’s priority for now is to secure
their release.
On the face of it, this may not seem
like the ideal time to advocate diplomacy. But it is worthwhile for Washington
to ask whether its hostile policy towards North Korea has produced any positive
result. The sanctions-only approach has not helped change Pyongyang’s
behaviour. In fact, the longstanding hostility and Washington’s repeated
threats have turned the Kim dynastic regime so paranoid that it doesn’t spare
even American tourists visiting North Korea. Attempts to put pressure on
Pyongyang through Beijing have also failed — either because China is not
completely on board or it is simply reluctant to use its leverage over North
Korea. Using force or attempting a regime change, a strategy that has not
worked for the U.S. elsewhere, will be far more dangerous in the Korean
Peninsula given that the North is an unpredictable nuclear power. This
situation leaves Mr. Trump with only one viable option: to take the lead in a
new diplomatic offensive with both carrots and sticks. Officials from
Washington and Pyongyang had already established low-level contact for the
release of Warmbier and the other three Americans who are still in North Korean
custody. Mr. Trump could use the crisis as an opportunity to expand the
engagement, get the Americans freed and then gradually start discussing more
complex issues. The new South Korean President, Moon Jae-in, is an advocate of
talks and has vowed to roll back the hostile foreign policy of his predecessor.
If China also backs such an effort wholeheartedly, Mr. Kim would have to
unequivocally demonstrate whether he is interested in peace or not.
Vocabulary
Tragic: causing or characterized by extreme distress or sorrow.
Example: The shooting was a tragic
accident
Synonyms: disastrous, calamitous, catastrophic, cataclysmic
Worsened: make or become worse.
Example: Her condition worsened on
the flight
Synonyms: aggravate, exacerbate, compound, add
to, intensify
Steal: move somewhere quietly or surreptitiously.
Example: He stole down to the kitchen
Synonyms: creep, sneak, slink, slip, slide, glide, tiptoe, sidle, edge
Hostile: unfriendly; antagonistic.
Example: A hostile audience
Synonyms: unfriendly, unkind, bitter, unsympathetic, malicious, vicious
Paranoid: of, characterized by, or suffering from the mental condition of
paranoia.
Example: Paranoid schizophrenia
Leverage: the exertion of force by means of a lever or an object used in the
manner of a lever.
Example: My spade hit something solid
that wouldn't respond to leverage
Synonyms: grip, purchase, hold, support, anchorage, force, strength
Vowed: solemnly promise to do a specified thing.
Example: He vowed that his government
would not tolerate a repeat of the disorder
Synonyms: swear, pledge, promise, avow, undertake, engage
Predecessor: a person who held a job or office before the current holder.
Example: The new president's foreign
policy is very similar to that of his predecessor
Synonyms: forerunner, precursor, antecedent
