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With the North Korean nuclear issue continuing to get worse, the authorities and state-run media in North and South Korea appear to be moving toward a new conflict, making rash statements instead of looking for a way to resume the six-party talks. This is the time for both sides to exercise self-restraint, restoring stability to the Korean peninsula and giving serious thought to how the nuclear issue can be resolved.

The remarks made by South Korean Defense Ministry spokesperson Kim Min-seok during a regular press briefing on May 12 that “North Korea isn‘t even a country. North Korea needs to quickly go away” are inappropriate, no matter how you look at them. This is tantamount to viewing North Korea as an evil that should not exist and threatening to eliminate it by force. This is at odds not only with the various agreements that North and South Korea have signed but also with the policy toward North Korea adopted by the Park Geun-hye government.

On May 13, Kim explained that he was talking not about North Korea as a whole but rather about the behavior of the North Korean government. Even if that is true, the meaning does not change very much. If Kim’s remarks represent the official position of the government, President Park should come forward to explain whether the government is changing its North Korean policy in this manner. If that is not the case, and Kim misspoke or was expressing his personal view, he should be held responsible.

North Korea has also increased the intensity of its harsh language over the past few months. One representative example is a statement issued by the spokesperson for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland on Apr. 27, which blasted President Park as a “silly girl” and “whore.”

North Korea‘s abusive remarks about US President Barack Obama are already creating a stir. On May 2 and 3, the North Korean state-run Korea Central News Agency and the Rodong Sinmun newspaper described Obama as “a mixed breed with unclear pedigree who resembles a monkey” and “an ugly fellow who lacks basic human features.”

On May 8, the US government issued a statement in response to the remarks, describing them as “ugly, rude, and disgusting.” The incident is providing ammunition to American hardliners against North Korea.

There is nothing to be gained from insults - they only make the situation even worse. While such language can have the temporary political advantage of consolidating reactionary views on a domestic level, it ultimately narrows the range of policy options, making it more difficult to solve problems.

Kim made the remarks denying that North Korea’s legitimacy while expressing the government position on the drone incident, but this will not make the drone incident go away.

According to a recent poll by the Pew Research Center in the US, 59% of Americans said that the North Korean nuclear program is the gravest international threat. This is connected with North Korea’s inflexible attitude.

It is easy to make rash comments, but their effects can be wide-ranging. We hope that the countries involved will open their eyes to the current situation and think carefully about what they ought to do. The North Korean nuclear program is one of the causes of the instability on the Korean peninsula, and if this is to be resolved, the six-party talks must be resumed.

Please direct questions or comments to [english@hani.co.kr]