Engaging with engagement: Preferring to talk only to God



Opinion Engaging with engagement: Preferring to talk only to God It’s not just North Korea; U.S. has long history of not talking things out with opponents Tim Beal September 8, 2014 SHARE COPY LINK FACEBOOK X LINKEDIN MASTODON World Economic Forum - Creative Commons Quite frequently there are calls from Americans for their government to “engage” with North Korea. Such exhortations naturally are more frequent around anniversaries, such as that of the signing of the Korean War Armistice Agreement, or after nuclear tests, but there are sufficient numbers of Americans concerned about the dangers of war on the Korean peninsula, or more commonly a perceived threat to the U.S., for the topic never to fall off the radar. The underlying issue of the U.S.-DPRK relationship may continue to fester, the appeals for a negotiated resolution may persist, but administration policy shows © Korea Risk Group. All rights reserved. No part of this content may be reproduced, distributed, or used for commercial purposes without prior written permission from Korea Risk Group. Get the Daily Update & Podcast Updates Start your day with the North Korea stories that matter most – as selected by Trending

Opinion

Engaging with engagement: Preferring to talk only to God

It’s not just North Korea; U.S. has long history of not talking things out with opponents

Tim Beal September 8, 2014

Engaging with engagement: Preferring to talk only to God

Quite frequently there are calls from Americans for their government to “engage” with North Korea. Such exhortations naturally are more frequent around anniversaries, such as that of the signing of the Korean War Armistice Agreement, or after nuclear tests, but there are sufficient numbers of Americans concerned about the dangers of war on the Korean peninsula, or more commonly a perceived threat to the U.S., for the topic never to fall off the radar. The underlying issue of the U.S.-DPRK relationship may continue to fester, the appeals for a negotiated resolution may persist, but administration policy shows

About the Author

Tim Beal

Tim Beal did a MA (Hons) in Modern Chinese Studies at Edinburgh University, followed by a PhD there on Chinese foreign trade. He moved to New Zealand in 1987 teaching at Victoria University of Wellington until his retirement in 2009. He has written extensively on International and Asian affairs, including two books relating to Korea: ‘North Korea: The Struggle against American Power’ (London: Pluto, 2005) and ‘Crisis in Korea: America, China, and the Risk of War’ (London: Pluto, 2011). He has been visiting both Koreas since the 1990s and maintains a geopolitical website focused on the peninsula at http://www.timbeal.net.nz/geopolitics/

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