Commentary: Hostile U.S. policy key reason behind DPRK's nuclear brinkmanship

As the world is busy digesting the fourth nuclear test by the the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) within a decade, a sobering fact is worth noting: Washington's antagonist approach has pushed Pyongyang further down the path of nuclear capability.

The Korean Peninsula nuclear issue, which has its origin in the Cold War, remains a major security conundrum for the region as well as the world.

Except for a brief period in the 1990s, mutual distrust and antagonism have been the driving theme of U.S.-DPRK relations.

Since 2003, the DPRK has stressed that it would abandon its nuclear program only if the United States abandons its antagonist policies toward Pyongyang.

A great many observers and analysts have also pointed out that any progress toward denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula hinges on improvement in U.S.-DPRK ties.

In the past few years, the United States has used various pressure tactics including war games and economic sanctions against Pyongyang, and even refused some rare goodwill gestures by the DPRK.

The U.S.'s combative approach has in effect deepened Pyongyang's sense of insecurity and prompted the country to go further in challenging non-proliferation restrictions.

The DPRK's nuclear brinkmanship, which indeed deserves worldwide condemnation given its potential to severely disturb regional stability and world peace, may as well be a desperate attempt by the country to elevate its position in wrestling with the United States.

The Western media and some politicians have piled blame on China for failing to halt the DPRK's nuclear program. But any hasty conclusion to identify China as the crux of the ongoing nuclear crisis on the Korean Peninsula is as absurd as it is irresponsible.

As a country that shares a border with the DPRK, China is exposed to a great level of risk should a nuclear emergency occur in the DPRK.

China has the strongest motive for pushing forward the denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula and it has undoubtedly played a tremendously positive role in the six party talks and other endeavors to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.

And as Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying said, China will continue to make every effort to promote the denuclearization and non-proliferation of the peninsula and safeguard stability in Northeast Asia. Endi