Toward a New Foreign Policy.

Despite its initially cautious response to the summit, the United States can still move boldly to end the cold war in Asia if it holds to its earlier economic promises and begins to rethink its security position in East Asia. The Clinton administration should start by taking North Korea off the terrorism list, which will improve economic relations between the two countries and remove an obstacle that has prevented a high-level North Korean delegation from visiting the United States.

Sanctions are counterproductive, discouraging precisely the kind of economic activity that the U.S. government would otherwise prefer to encourage in North Korea. The elimination of sanctions will not produce a sudden flood of trade between the two countries, but it will clear the way for North Korea to receive multilateral loans, and it will send an important signal to East Asia that the U.S. is willing to move beyond the cold war.

As it makes good on its commitments in the economic realm, the U.S. must also begin to address the security issues in the region. Both sides talk of "keeping their powder dry." It is the responsibility of the stronger party to make the first move. Washington's offensive posture--bases, military presence in South Korea, TMD, joint maneuvers--does nothing to allay Pyongyang's fears of invasion. The U.S. must consider the following steps:

* Cancel joint exercises with South Korea, and put the issue of U.S. troop withdrawal on the negotiating table. The North Korean military threat has been inflated, and the South Korean military can already counter any North Korean "threat" without U.S. troop support. North Korea's entire government budget of $9.4 billion is smaller than South Korea's military budget of $13 billion.

* Cancel TMD. This system is wildly expensive ($60 billion over the next fifteen years), technically flawed, and disruptive to U.S. relations with numerous countries. An East Asian "space race" is already pushing countries to develop satellites. Rather than encouraging this race, the U.S. must lead the way in restraining the militarization of space.

* Encourage regional security dialogue. U.S. military withdrawal from the region should avoid creating a vacuum in its wake that might encourage major arms programs in South Korea or a remilitarized Japan. Only an effective multilateral security framework that oversees confidence building measures and regional force reductions can ensure a nonhegemonic peace in the region. As part of this approach, the U.S. must reduce arms sales to the region and abandon the costly Pentagon doctrine of maintaining the capacity to fight two wars simultaneously.

The U.S. must also consider a deeper change in negotiating style. The Kim Dae Jung government is no longer pursuing zero-sum tactics in its relations with North Korea. Rather, South Korea is making conciliatory moves to create an improved atmosphere more likely to encourage North Korean reciprocity. As the 1994 Agreed Framework negotiations demonstrated, North Korea responds positively when its negotiating partner acts first and in good faith. Moreover, as North Korea becomes increasingly engaged in world politics, it will put greater value on compliance with international agreements on proliferation and nuclear weapons production. Instead of extracting bilateral concessions, the U.S. should begin to think in terms of achieving its goals through a multilateral framework.

By reducing tension in the region, the U.S. can also help support the innovative South Korean policies, particularly from civil society. Prior to the summit, civil movements were out in front of the South Korean government--establishing 250 sister-farm relationships; donating shipments of clothes, milk, and eggs; and helping to reforest hills stripped bare for firewood. These efforts are concrete examples of unification from below.

The U.S. must accept that it is not the boldest actor in its relations with North Korea. Italy has led the way by establishing diplomatic relations; Russian President Vladimir Putin will visit Pyongyang in July; South Korea is pushing ahead with concrete economic projects. The two Koreas will have to work out unification largely by themselves. But the U.S. can still make an important contribution by removing barriers that discourage economic cooperation with North Korea and retiring some of the huge and costly U.S. arsenal in Asia, before disengaging from the peninsula and allowing "slow motion" unification to gather momentum.

Key Recommendations

* The United States must remove North Korea from its terrorism list and help North Korea better address its economic problems.

* The United States must refashion its military position in the region by beginning to negotiate troop withdrawal from South Korea, canceling Theater Missile Defense, and encouraging regional security dialogue.

* The Clinton administration should follow the South Korean lead by avoiding zero-sum tactics and encouraging civic initiatives that build bridges between the two Koreas.

John Feffer ([e-mail]) works for the American Friends Service Committee in the East Asia Quaker International Affairs Program based in Tokyo. He travels regularly to North and South Korea and China to encourage dialogue on peace and justice issues.