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Commentary: Courage, wisdom needed in U.S.-DPRK dialogue to turn momentum into milestone

Xinhua, January 18, 2015 Adjust font size:

The ice-breaking dialogue between the United States and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in Singapore Sunday offers some ray of hope for the settlement of the decades-long predicament, but turning the positive momentum into milestone requires both courage and wisdom to compromise from the two sides.

Particularly, the United States, holding a stake in Korean Peninsula's peace and stability, needs to at least listen to the DPRK's voice and join hands with other pertinent parties to defuse the prolonged crisis on the peninsula.

Believe it or not, a cornered and reckless DPRK is not a blessing to the region nor to the world at large. Blind arrogance and constant neglect to the olive branches the country has offered might be the last straw for the isolated nation.

Washington's flat refusal last week to Pyongyang's proposal of temporarily suspending nuclear tests in exchange for a halt to joint military exercises by the U.S. and South Korea does no good to trust-building and realization of peace on the divided peninsula.

In fact, the offer, which the United States deemed as an "implicit threat", could be sort of goodwill released by the DPRK for a peaceful solution to the decade-long crisis.

The proposal is the latest tension-easing effort made in recent months by the Kim Jong Un administration toward trust-based dialogue or detente with the United States and South Korea.

Unfortunately, it was not met with proportionate sincerity from the United States.

U.S. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki outright slammed that it "inappropriately links routine" U.S.-South Korea exercises to the possibility of a nuclear test by the DPRK and is "an implicit threat."

The U.S. failed to notice, or chose to ignore, the potentially positive change to the intense atmosphere surrounding the Korean Peninsula that could come if the proposal was implemented.

Just like what China has repeatedly urged, trust-based dialogue is the only way out of the decades-long stalemate and to the resumption of the six-party talks on the denuclearization on the peninsula.

It is highly hoped that the United States catch the opportunity and show due respects to DPRK's olive branches in Singapore. Now the ball is in Washington's court. Endi