Washington Ready To Negotiate: "The Ball Is in Pyonyang's Court"

“The United States remains open to authentic and credible negotiations on denuclearization,” if North Korea takes a step in the right direction, said U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, in a speech in Tokyo on April 15 at the third and final stop of his three-day tour in Asia. “[T]he burden is on Pyongyang.”

John Kerry had previously traveled to Seoul, where he reiterated Washington’s full support of its South Korean ally. He then went on to Beijing, before visiting Japanese allies. “One thing is certain: we are united. There can be no confusion on this point,” emphasized the head of American diplomacy. “The North’s dangerous nuclear missile program threatens not only North Korea’s neighbors, but also its own people,” he insisted, calling on Pyongyang to “‘take meaningful steps to show it will honor commitments it has already made’ and the norms of international law.”

Kim Il Sung’s Birthday

In the North Korean capital this morning, the leader Kim Jong Un visited the mausoleum of the embalmed bodies of his father, Kim Jong Il, and his grandfather, Kim Il Sung, who founded the regime that celebrates its 101st anniversary on Monday.

State television in North Korea broadcast documentaries throughout the morning on the life of the “Dear Leader” and showed images of soldiers in training. A large military parade is expected to take place in the capital. Pyongyang often celebrates the birthday of its leaders through military tests and could, according to some experts, use a missile test to mark the symbolic date on Monday, which according to Kerry would be a “huge mistake.”

In 2012, the 100th anniversary of the birth of Kim Il Sung was marked by a shot — a failed rocket — which was considered by Westerners as a disguised attempt to test a long-range missile. According to South Korean intelligence, the North has recently deployed two Musudan missiles to its eastern coast with a theoretical range of 4,000 km, which would be capable of reaching South Korea, Japan, and the United States territory Guam.

Threats to Tokyo

Tensions on the Korean peninsula have escalated since the U.N. imposed a new round of sanctions after the third nuclear test conducted by Pyongyang on February 12. As a response to this decision, and to U.S. and South Korean military maneuvers, the Pyongyang regime has stepped up its invectives and threatened the United States and South Korea with “thermonuclear war.” On Friday, it also warned Japan of “nuclear fire,” after which Japan deployed anti-missile batteries to destroy any North Korean missile that could threaten its territory, adding to precautionary measures taken by the United States and by South Korea.

The North Korean surge of invectives has also coincided with the arrival of a new South Korean president Park Geun-hye, who came into power at the end of February. During her election campaign, Park Geun-hye, the daughter of dictator Park Chung-hee from a traditionally conservative party, distanced herself from the political intransigence on North Korea of her predecessor, Lee Myung-bak, who had cut off humanitarian aid to Pyongyang.

Chinese Influence

Until now, discontentment with North Korea has only been verbal, with the exception of the quasi-closing of the inter-Korean Kaesong Industrial Complex located in North Korean territory, despite an offer of further dialogue made by South Korea last week.

At Beijing, John Kerry attempted once again to push China, as its only major ally and economic lifeline, to try to calm its communist neighbor. “Mr. President, this is obviously a critical time with some very challenging issues,” stressed Kerry to Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“Addressing nuclear issues in Korea serves the interests of all parties involved,” said the Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Wang Yi. Without explicitly mentioning North Korea by name, the Chinese President Xi Jinping had given notice to Pyongyang a few days ago that “[n]o one should be allowed to throw … the whole world into chaos …’’