The Arms Control Association is announcing the "Arms Control Person of the Year" today, and all the usual suspects are on the list. There's Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, for campaigning on behalf of landmine victims; Sen. Dick Lugar of Indiana, for his efforts to shut down Russian chemical weapons facilities; and of course, President Barack Obama.
Online voting ended a while ago, but it looks like Kim Jong-il, North Korea's Dear Leader, is trying to get a belated spot on the list. In an announcement today, the North Korean regime said it wanted a peace treaty with the United States to bring a formal end to the Korean War. And, of course, it wants an end to UN sanctions that are squeezing its economy (and enabling a tight arms embargo).
"The conclusion of the peace treaty will help terminate the hostile relations between the DPRK and the U.S. and positively promote the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula at a rapid tempo," the North said, according to a statement picked up by South Korea's Yonhap News Agency. "If confidence is to be built between the DPRK and the US, it is essential to conclude a peace treaty for terminating the state of war, a root cause of the hostile relations, to begin with."
So! Does this mean we can expect a lasting peace on the Korean peninsula in Juche 99 2010? Or at least an end to the standoff over North Korea's nuclear program? After all, the Obama administration's top nuclear negotiator visited Pyongyang in December, and the Korea Herald reports that the United States may be willing to talk peace with North Korea.
South Korean officials, however, are skeptical about Pyongyang's intentions, worrying that this might actually be a ploy to undermine nuclear talks. "We cannot say it is all good news because what they proposed is somewhat different from our position on such talks," an official with South Korea's foreign ministry told Yonhap.
So it's hard to say what, exactly, is going on. Kim Jong-il isn't returning our phone calls. Apparently, he decided to start writing posts for War Is Boring instead.
(Note to Korea Central News Agency: Please update your Facebook page!)
[PHOTO OF YOUNG KJI: Wikimedia]
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