3 Questions: Jim Walsh on the Korean standoff
The always-tense relations between North Korea and South Korea hit a low this week. The South Koreans and their president, Lee Myung-bak, have increasingly come to the conclusion that the sinking of one of their warships in March, which killed 46 sailors, was caused by a North Korean torpedo. Lee has promised to reduce trade ties between the countries while North Korea has threatened that any military retaliation will lead to “all-out war.” Making the situation more problematic, the United States and other countries still hope to dismantle North Korea’s nuclear arsenal. MIT News asked Jim Walsh, a research associate with the Security Studies Program, to comment on the situation. An expert on nuclear proliferation, Walsh has in the past conducted talks with officials in North Korea about security matters and closely follows events in the region. Q. Why has the situation between North Korea and South Korea deteriorated so...