Clinton to deal with Korean tension

Secretary of State Clinton was in Asia Thursday to lower tensions between North and South Korea. She has been in Asia for the week making her first overseas trip as Secretary of State. The stop in South Korea was the third leg of her four-nation tour in the continent. Apparently, the United States government has evidence that the North Korean government was on the verge of a launch of a long-range missile. Clinton’s visit came as tensions between the two are rapidly heightening, as evidenced by the alleged plans to launch the missile.
North Korean officials have disputed the claim and have said that Pyongyang was preparing to launch a satellite. Pyongyang said Thursday that it was ready for an "all-out confrontation" with South Korea, calling South Korean President Lee Myung-bak a traitor and accusing him of "frantically inciting hostility" toward North Korea and "kicking up ... war hysteria," North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency said. It seems as though the North is being very aggressive in its talk and actions, if those things are true. "It's seen as an attempt by North Korea to increase uneasiness about security and widen the ideological divide within South Korea," said Kim Ho-Nyun, a spokesman for the South Korean Unification Ministry.
As Clinton spoke on Thursday she said that the alleged launch was, “a matter of great concern”. Clinton is being smart about this and trying to remain neutral and hear all sides. She will supposedly speak with the leadership of South Korea and China on what they think should be the next steps in dealing with the North. It is important to confer with those surrounding nations on how to move forward because they are in the region and know best what is actually going on with North Korea. Clinton remarks, “"We obviously do have some ideas. ... But we do want this to be shared responsibility." It is in the best interests of all parties to ensure that this is being dealt with in the proper manner and all perspectives are kept in mind.
It is believed that North Korea is about to go through leadership changes as Kim Jong Il’s health is deteriorating. He reportedly had a stroke and some observers claim he may not be fully in charge of the country. With this in mind Clinton plans to be even more cautious and cognizant of what can and might happen if tensions are not resolved quickly. There is increased pressure, Clinton added, because of questions over succession issues for the North's leadership. "If there is a succession," Clinton went on, "even if it is a peaceful succession, then that creates more uncertainty. It may also encourage even more provocative action as a way to delegate power within the society."
The important thing to remember is that when potential world threats of North Korea’s nature decide to do something, they often act irrationally putting many lives in jeopardy. I’m sure that Clinton is aware of this and will act accordingly in her tactics to smooth things over on all fronts. If nothing else, Clinton seems to have the beginnings of a plan. "Our goal is to try to come up with a strategy that is effective in influencing the leadership of North Korea at a time when the leadership situation is somewhat unclear."
The secretary of state said the aim now is to rebuild the commitment by the U.S., Russia, China, Japan and South Korea into a "united front" to deal with the North. That will be very key in the strategy to deal with this situation. You must have allies, and should not go alone in matters of this magnitude. Clinton reports that talks with these countries have produced some results, “but we are still dealing with the reality of North Korea not only possessing, we believe, some number of nuclear weapons, but showing very little willingness to get back on track." I hope Clinton is ready for the job because as we’ve seen in the past it won’t be easy.