International Issue: North Korea’s Return to the Six-Party Talks
Newspaper is one of the most influential forms of mass media. Thanks to the Internet, we can read every event in newspapers from all over the world, anytime and anywhere. It is not an exaggeration to state that we are surrounded by mass media. People usually think that newspapers always present events in objectively, and people believe that information from newspapers is reliable and accurate. However, unfortunately the information in newspapers does not always have an objective point of view. Like a historiography, newspapers reflect writers’ or editors’ own point of view on events, and sometimes that point of view is biased. Because there are many different countries in the world that have different cultures and political backgrounds, there can be different perspectives on the same issue among various countries worldwide. In this paper, I will analyze five articles from different countries, Japan, China, the United States, South Korea, and France. The articles are about those countries’ reactions and opinion toward the announcement of North Korea’s return to the six-party talks. By analyzing these five countries’ newspaper articles, we can see how different cultures and political backgrounds cause the same event to be delivered differently.
Daily Yomiuri/the Yomiuri Shimbun, the newspaper from Japan, states that North Korea must return to the six-party talks, and that China has to take the responsibility to persuade North Korea to make this decision. The Daily Yomiuri article mentions a meeting between the Chinese leader Wen Jiabao and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, stating, “Kim indicated North Korea was prepared to attend multilateral talks, including the six-party talks, depending on progress in its negotiations with the United States (Daily Yomiuri, Oct. 7, 2009).” According to analysis, the change in North Korea’s position is because North Korea wants to receive economic aid. However, the Daily Yomiuri states there is still uncertainty whether North Korea really intends to return to the six-party talks “because it has not changed its stance of focusing on its negotiations with the United States” (Daily Yomiuri, Oct. 7, 2009).
The Term Paper on South Korea’s Policy towards North Korea
The purpose of this essay to address issues concerned with foreign policy of one state over another. In this paper the main concern is South Korea’s policy toward North Korea with emphasis on brief history of past and present foreign policy. A brief description of the Korean government gives clarifications about historical and cultural highlights. The Korean Peninsula was initially populated by ...
Two nuclear tests in North Korea have ruined its relationship with United States and damaged its relationship even its most reliable ally, China. The author of the Daily Yomiuri article mentions that the relationship between China and North Korea has become chilled since North Korea has conducted nuclear testing. Also, the author says that China seems to be afraid that sanctions against North Korea might shake China’s stability which is China’s top primary issue. The article gives warning to China that if China cannot persuade North Korea to return to the six-party talks, the most damaged party could be China. Finally, the writer emphasizes that China and North Korea are the most responsible, of all the members of the six party talks, for making them work.
However, Chinadaily, the newspaper from China, has a different opinion about the announcement of North Korea’s return to the six party talks. Basically, China also thinks that North Korea has to return to the six-party talks. The author states, “Premier Wen Jiabao’s three days visit to the DPRK has raised hopes that the six-party talks could resume” (Chinadaily, Oct. 13, 2009).
However, the writer says that it is US-North Korea ties that are the most important in returning North Korea to the six-party talks. The article says that the United States will not rebuff North Korea’s conditions any more. If the Obama administration accepts the North Korea’s conditions and “continue[s] to be prudent in its show of sincerity and goodwill to end the hostility with Pyongyang” (Chinadaily, Oct. 13, 2009), it could result in the return of North Korea to the six-party talks. Contrary to the article from Japan, we can see the article from China considers the relationship between the US and North Korea, not that between China and North Korea, is the key to achieving North Korea’s denuclearization and return to the six-party talks. The author of the article also suggests alternative idea that multilateral dialogues should be created simultaneously with the six-party talks in case North Korea does not return to the six-party talks. This infers that China is also uncertain whether North Korea will return to the six-party talks.
The Term Paper on Us Relations with South Korea
... the Yeonpyeong-do attack, he asked China to tell North Korea that Seoul would respond to a ... and for South Korea to return to a policy of largely unconditional engagement with North Korea. On most ... and 2012, members of South Korea’s largest opposition party, the Democratic United Party (DUP) called for renegotiating ... the United States is participating. The TPP talks are a key element of the Obama ...
In the American article, found in the Los Angeles Times, author Paul B. Stares states that North Korea will return to the six-party talks, and that the United States, along with China, Russia, South Korea, and Japan are jointly doing their best to persuade North Korea. Stares seems to think that the United States can handle this situation and suggests three reasons that make talking to North Korea worthwhile. The first reason is that as long as purpose of the six-party talks is denuclearization, if the US makes North Korea return to six party talks, it will be denied what it craves most. Another reason is that “if carefully negotiated, the talks could also put a cap on further nuclear weapons development by North Korea” (Los Angeles Times, Oct. 16, 2009).
The third reason is “the talks and the potential inspections of nuclear sites that could conceivably follow could provide a window on what is happening inside North Korea” (Los Angeles Times, Oct. 16, 2009).
This means that the United States should act more positively to influence North Korea’s return to the six-party talks. Also, Stares notes that if the United States doesn’t take any action regarding North Korea, “Iran and other nuclear aspirants probably would be emboldened” (Los Angeles Times, Oct. 16, 2009).
We can assume the writer thinks that if the US could put a cap on nuclear weapons development by North Korea through the talks, it could be easier to control Iran and other nuclear aspirants.
In South Korea, an article from newspaper, The Hankyoreh, expresses the views that the relationship between China and North Korea has once again become sincere unlike the article in the Daily Yomiuri. In the article in The Hankyoreh, the author says that “observers are predicting relatively favorable conditions for North Korea in future discussions of the nuclear issue” (The Hankyoreh, Oct. 7, 2009).
The Essay on North Korea And Cuba
North Korea and Cuba are two of the five current communist ruling states, also known as the Ruling parties of Socialist states. North Korea is under the rule of Kim Jung Il, a strong communist leader since 1994. He succeeded his father, Kim Il- Sung, when he died in 1994 after his rule for 50 years of communism. Cuba is ruled by Fidel Castro, who overthrew Fulgencio Batista in 1959 during the ...
China promised economic aid to North Korea, and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao’s remarks about continuing friendly relations with North Korea through the generations are well publicized. The author of the article in The Hankyoreh interprets these messages as “China sent two messages to the international community, namely that sanctions are over and that it would support North Korea’s political stability” (The Hankyoreh, Oct. 7, 2009).
Also, the author concludes that Wen’s visit opens the way to some extent for North Korea’s return to the talks. Since North Korea added condition “depending on the outcome of the North Korea-U.S. talks,” it seems to be pressing for the six-party talks as soon as possible (The Hankyoreh, Oct. 7, 2009).
French newspaper, Agence France-Press, writes about the reactions of six countries’, Japan, Russia, South Korea, North Korea, China, and the US, to the announcement of North Korea’s impending return to six party talks. The writer of this article states that Japan, Russia, North Korea, China, and the US welcome North Korea’s return to the six-party talks, but that South Korea is skeptical of North Korea’s announcement. Foreign Minister Yu Myung-Hwan, in Seoul, is quoted in the article as saying, “I believe we have to confirm North Korea’s real intentions through discussions with China” (Agence France-Press, Oct. 6, 2009).
The writer also concludes that North Korea will return to the six-party talks because it doesn’t want to lose its “biggest trade partner and chief energy supplier,” China (Agence France-Press, Oct. 6, 2009).
Instead of spurning the six-party talks, the author says that “Pyongyang’s willingness to scrap its cherished nuclear program remains questionable” (Agence Freace-Press, Oct. 6, 2009).
Even though Japan, China, the United States, and South Korea are members of the six-party talks, their opinions and point of view are slightly different because they stand for their own different political and economic positions. Basically, each country agrees that North Korea has to return to the six-party talks. However, their reactions and analyses are different. The article from Japan emphasizes the importance of China’s role in persuading North Korea to return to the six-party talks. On the contrary, the author of the article from China points to the relationship between North Korea and the US as the key to returning North Korea to the six-party talks in article from China. However, the writer from the US opines that if the US could put a cap on nuclear weapons development by North Korea through the talks, it could be easier to control Iran and other nuclear aspirants. All of these different opinions on same issue come from different cultures and the political and economic situations that they have to stand for. This might be how history has always been written.
The Essay on Communist Party China Economy Market
China's Economic Future Outlook If China's economy grows as fast for the next 20 years as it has for the past 14, it will be the biggest economy on earth: I feel that China's drastic improvements over the last 14 years are overwhelming, with their Real GNP growing at a rate of 9% a year, which means by, 1994, China's economy will match the performance of countries like Japan and Taiwan. China's ...
By writing this paper, I can see what the members of six-party talks actually think. Also, I feel if we want to see some events more precisely, we should seek all different opinions and put them together. I realize again why it is worth to take different point of views through this paper.
References
Oct. 6, 2009 “NKorea Willing to Return to Nuclear Talks” Agence France-Presse
Oct. 7, 2009 “Kim Jong-il’s Remark on Six-Party Talks Gives Green Flight on N.Korea’s Nuclear Issue” The Hankyoreh
Oct. 7, 2009 “N. Korea Must Return to Six-Party Talks” Daily Yomiuri/Daily Yomiuri
Oct. 13, 2009 “Wen’s Visit to DPRK Holds out Hope” Chinadaily
Oct. 16, 2009 “Talking to North Korea is Worthwile” Los Angeles Times
