Ban's Nuclear Priorities

November 8, 2006
The Wall Street Journal
Original Source: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB116293804854416069.html

The next United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, doesn't take office until January. But he's already starting to give an indication of his priorities.
Mr. Ban expressed alarm Monday at Japan's nascent political debate on nuclearization in the wake of North Korea's nuclear sabre-rattling. I don't think remarks like these are desirable for the future of Japan, which is one of the most important members of the United Nations and also a major power in Northeast Asia, the Associated Press quoted Mr. Ban as saying. He said he was expressing his concern not just as the Foreign Minister of South Korea, but also as the next U.N. Secretary-General.
Setting aside the question of whether it's appropriate for a soon-to-be international public servant to weigh in on an issue of national security in a sovereign, democratic nation, what's alarming here is that Mr. Ban prefers to ignore the real problem -- a nuclear North Korea. That's a problem exacerbated by policies he helped shape. For more than two years as Seoul's chief diplomat, Mr. Ban wholeheartedly backed the South's sunshine policy of appeasing North Korea. Under his tenure, Seoul supplied the North with critical food and foreign exchange while Pyongyang was developing a nuclear weapon. The South also turned a blind eye to a vast panoply of the North's egregious human rights abuses.
Meanwhile in Japan, a few politicians, such as Liberal Democratic Party chairman Shoichi Nakagawa, have started to wonder if the U.S. nuclear shield is sufficient, given the North's aggressive posture and Seoul's simpering diplomacy. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said many times that Japan isn't considering lifting its longstanding ban on nuclear weapons. But even his Foreign Minister, Taro Aso, has said there is no need to rule out debate.
North Korea's recent nuclear test is forcing Japan's political agenda. Rather than chastise Tokyo for thinking pragmatically about its survival, the next Secretary General of the U.N. would be better served by taking a stronger hand against the real problem: Kim Jong Il.