[Mb-civic] Bottling the nuclear genie - Anne Wu - Boston Globe

[William Swiggard]

Bottling the nuclear genie

By Anne Wu  |  October 9, 2005

DECADES AGO, the nuclear genie escaped from the bottle. Recently we 
learned that even Venezuela, which had sounded rebellious at the recent 
UN summit, is borrowing the tactic of North Korea and Iran by proposing 
to start research into peaceful use of nuclear energy.

The problem of Pyongyang and Tehran exposes the paradox among the three 
pillars of nonproliferation strategy -- disarmament, nonproliferation, 
and peaceful use of nuclear energy. This year's UN summit failed to 
address the proliferation of nuclear weapons because UN members could 
not agree which pillar should be given the priority.

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan describes this gap as a ''real 
disgrace." The world anticipates the ''haves" to be guards of the 
nonproliferation regime, but also expects them to lead by example by 
reducing their own nuclear arsenals and helping ''have-nots" to develop 
nuclear energy. It is no great wonder that Pyongyang demands 
denuclearization of the whole Korean Peninsula instead of unilateral 
denuclearization on the North and that Iran accused Washington of 
''nuclear apartheid."

The united front of Pyongyang and Tehran poses a greater challenge to 
the global nonproliferation regime. Though informal allies in their 
nuclear tug-of-war with the international community, North Korea and 
Iran are watching and following each other's step. They are drawing upon 
each other's strategies and lessons, and they are judging how the 
world's nuclear watchdogs plan to deal with them differently.

Washington, which is in direct confrontation with Pyongyang and Tehran, 
will find it extremely difficult to maintain a consistent approach 
toward the two.

The six-party talks agreement has made it clear that the provision of a 
light water reactor to Pyongyang would be discussed at a later stage. 
However, recognizing Pyongyang's right to a peaceful nuclear program 
will make Iran's demand irresistible. It's always hard to apply double 
standards. The inconvenience in nodding to Pyongyang will halt the 
denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula, and delay the 
resolution of the Iran issue.

Washington has to deal with the alliance in a consistent manner. Thanks 
to Beijing's efforts in leading the denuclearization talks, the North 
Korean nuclear issue has become more manageable. Washington also 
believed that, under the shepherd of its old brother Beijing, Pyongyang 
is unlikely to go astray. However, manageability does not mean that 
Washington can ease up on Pyongyang and play hardball against Teheran.

Though agreement was inked to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula this 
September, how to implement the accord that affords equal importance to 
verifiable denuclearization and satisfying Pyongyang's security and 
energy concerns is the real daunting task ahead. Iran is watching and 
calculating the accord's mirror effect.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/10/09/bottling_the_nuclear_genie/
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