The U.S. approach toward North Korea can have many faces, of which the main are conservative and liberal. The conservatives are not sympathetic to North Korea, while the liberals are. Both make sense to me. I am a Korean scholar. I may be neutral to the two approaches. President Clintons appeasement policy has been ciriticized by the conservative Republicans, and the Bush administration was not sensitive to North Korea, according to the liberal Democrats. Both make sense.
North Korea has legitimately been on the list of terrorist nations, having been categorized as a rogue state. Suddenly, it becomes a "nation of concern." Is that acceptable? Yes and no. All nations are nations of concern to each other. However, it is all dependent upon North Korea s behavior. North Korea at the present moment is a starving nation begging for money, which it does shamelessly by using its arsenal of missiles and potential nuclear capabilities as a bargaining chip.
North Korea has been a totalitarian state under a dictator and his son. North Korean people are starving to death, but North Korean authorities are proud of its massive military power. The Pueblo incident serves as a proud anecdote. The North has threatened South Korea with its military power. "We can turn Seoul into a sea of fire," a North Korean official stated at the North-South conference a few years ago at Panmunjom. The military is its supreme power culture. Its mobilization capabilities were demonstrated when South Korean President Kim Dae-jung visited Pyongyang in June. Nearly all of Pyongyangs citizens greeted the South Korean visitors on the road from Sunan airport to downtown Pyongyang. Its language is military, too. A small farming group is called a "platoon" and harvest is called "harvest war." Kim Jong-il s official title is the chairman of the Military Commission.
However, North Korea cannot challenge the U.S. militarily, even though its long range missiles cam reach Alaska. Whenever the U.S. national missile defense system mentions North Koreas possible attack on Japan and the U.S., I just cannot but laugh. The U.S. should fear the sky falling rather than fear a North Korean attack.
North Korea itself was created as a result of World War II and the Cold War. Kim Il-sung was a Soviet soldier. His power was created by the Soviet military machine in l945. North Korean leaders saw and still see this world with their Cold War eyes. Now, Kim Jong-ils eyesight is changing. South Korea has experienced political and economic freedom in a pluralistic society. Kim Jong-I s dictatorial rule cannot be acceptable by South Korean people at all. North Korean leaders believe they can win a war on the Korean peninsula, if there was no U.S. intervention. However, they now doubt they could govern the country after their military victory. Therefore, I do not expect another war in the Korean peninsula.
This is a very important point to the United States and other nations. The significance of U.S. troops in South Korea is less meaningful now, and will be even more so in the future. The U.S. Congress and president should ponder on how long the US. soldiers will stay in Korea. Peaceful co-existence of the two Koreas will make the U.S. troops unnecessary as a war-deterring force. The unification will eventually come. How can the U.S. justify its troops in Korea? South Korean political leaders are saying that the U.S. troops should stay even after the unification, for maintaining peace in the East Asia. Many intellectuals in Korea and the U.S. disagree with that idea. There should not be any war between China and Japan. Why do some expect a war in East Asia? Do they expect Japan to start another horrible war? False assumption is not necessary.
The presence of American troops outside of the U.S. territory should be mulled in consideration of global military power and its influence.
The U.S. troops are a symbol of the Cold War. The U.S. troops have been justified in Asia and Europe as the force for peace. But in the 21st century, I am looking forward to a new civilization in East Asia and the world. That is peace for peace, not force for peace. I may be talking about idealism. No nation should use military power. No nation is allowed to invade a foreign country. Any aggressor should not be pardoned by this world. Please reject the Cold War legacy of "You have the atomic bomb, then I will have the atomic bomb. Then we will maintain peace." I propose a new legacy: "You dont have a gun, and I don t have a gun. Now, we are in peace. The U.S. should create and devise a new civilization for this world for the 2lst century. The U.S., as the leading nation on Earth should establish a new political order for this international society.
The U.S. approach toward North Korea should be cultural. Then, North Korea may abandon its garrison state, missiles and nuclear arsenal. Liberals and conservatives should make an orchestrated effort to create a new international order.

The writer is a professor at the University of Seoul Graduate School of Urban Sciences.