North Korea Poses a Difficult Assignment In Diplomacy, and Psychology

Commentary
By Scott McLean

U.S. foreign policy is much more difficult in recent times, as there are so many unpredictable leaders of the so-called rogue nations, the ones that seem to follow none of the rules and could be dangerous if and when they develop major weapons of mass destruction and the ability to launch them great distances.

North Korea tested a nuclear weapon this week, as was widely reported, making action by the United States, China and other countries an urgent matter.

If North Korea’s leader doesn’t care that much about his own people, it’s unlikely trade sanctions by the United States and it’s partners will lead to the desired action of getting North Korea to give up it’s nuclear weapons.

How do you reason with leaders like North Korea's when they don’t appear to care about their own people! When the military is built up at the expense of goods and services for the people of any country, such as what happened in the Soviet Union under Stalin, that speaks loudly about what’s important to such a regime, and limits the productivity of bilateral or multilateral talks.

In trying to get a country perceived as a threat to become more friendly in it’s actions, doesn’t it ultimately come down to what the other countries can do for them?

The problem isn’t only that this type of leader will not do what other countries want him to do, but that he doesn’t even care what they will do in response to his actions.

If compared to a board game, for example, the losing player rather than admit defeat might throw the whole game on the floor, which if North Korea acts this way could lead to dire consequences for Asia and all of the world.