Tensions Rise on Korean Peninsula

After the North Korean threat on Saturday, tensions between two Koreas are continuously rising. South Korea deployed more soldiers at the frontier and prohibited its fishermen from approaching the North Korea water as a preparation for a probable naval clash.

The tensions started to rise when the North Korean military declared an "all-out confrontational posture" against the South with an assertion that the country would maintain its "status as a nuclear weapons state". Making North Korea's claim for a nuclear weapons state more realistic and threatening, an American scholar, Selig S. Harrison, said that North Korea officials told him that they had successfully converted plutonium into roughly four or five nuclear bombs. Earlier Saturday, a spokesman for North Korea's Foreign Ministry said, "we can live without normalizing ties with the United States, but we cannot live without a nuclear deterrent".

North Korea's aggression towards the South has been intensified since Lee Myung-Bak became the new President of South Korea a year ago. President Lee declared that he would promote a tougher stance on North Korea. This stance has been criticized that it could destroy a recovered bonding between the two Koreas after 10 years of former president's efforts to assist North Korea financially and economically.

However, what is unusual and worrisome about the North Korea's declaration is the way in which it was delivered. Different from the North's usual method of using the state-controlled media, this time, it was delivered by a uniformed member of the military. The spokesman said, "strong military measures will follow from our revolutionary armed force".

Because the messages of North Korea are often so vague and difficult to perfectly interpret, many analysts are expressing their opinions as to what they think the North Korea's government tries to say through its statements. Some, for example Mr. Harrison, suggested that North Korea could be bluffing to earn a good negotiating position prior to President-elect Barack Obama's inauguration ceremonies. Some analysts said that the declaration of producing nuclear weapons could be an indication that North Korea would not give up its arms although the country had agreed to end its weaponization of nuclear arms in the summit meetings with South Korea, China, the United States, Russia, and Japan in 2005.

Opinion: I also agree with some analysts' suggestions that it is just a tactic to obtain a good negotiating position. However, I think South Korea's government should not consider this as a mere bluff, but it should take serious steps to analyze what really irritated the North Korea's government and find peaceful ways to solve this problem. As a citizen of South Korea, I am deeply worried that my country is confronting a serious conflict that could put it in to a chaotic period during a economic crisis. Meanwhile, I see this as an opportunity for us to finally think about what North Korea really needs and what we can do for them as two Koreas were once a united nation that had glorious history together. Also, with regard to its declaration of "nuclear weapons state", I believe the five countries I mentioned above should meet North Korea and negotiate to find ways to solve this problem that poses an extreme danger. All the countries have to be understanding of North Korea's impoverished society and try their best to meet North Korea's demands.