The End of the New Beginning? : Christopher rightly tells Pyongyang to stop playing games with helicopter airmen

It is still possible to hope that the pilot of a crashed U.S. helicopter and the remains of his dead colleague will be returned by North Korea at any moment and that the delay of the last few days has been nothing more than the result of North Korea’s arteriosclerotic decision-making processes. But in the event something more ominous is going on in Pyongyang, Washington must make it unmistakably plain: The pilot, as well as the other airman’s body, must be given back without further delay if progress in U.S-North Korean relations is to remain on track. As U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher aptly put it Tuesday, “We have indicated that a further delay . . . would be of great concern to us and would affect the atmosphere in which we’ve been hoping to improve relations with North Korea.”

One major problem now in dealing with North Korea is that it is not entirely clear who is really running the country following the death of long-term leader Kim Il Sung. The nation remains in official mourning, and there is speculation that Kim Jong Il, Kim’s son and designated successor, has not been able to seize all the reins of power. The possible reason: North Korea’s military, more inward-looking and Stalinist than even the North Korean Communist Party, still hasn’t accepted the son as legitimate heir.

The elite of the armed forces may regard the helicopter incident as a military matter and insist on controlling the issue. But if that happens, North Korea will be putting at risk not just the recent positive trend in Pyongyang-Washington relations but the $4-billion deal by which the United States would help that impoverished nation build non-threatening nuclear electric generators in exchange for North Korea’s suspension of its nuclear buildup.

This should not come to a dangerous standoff. But it could if North Korea drags its feet much longer. The proposed nuclear pact, already under criticism in the United States, will not have any support among Americans if Pyongyang reverts to its old Cold War ways.