The Pointless Pursuit of North Korean 'Denuclearization'

Pledging to achieve North Korean disarmament has become one of the hollowest rituals of U.S. foreign policy.

North Korea predictably rejected the latest U.S. and allied call for their disarmament:

North Korea's foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it will keep bolstering its nuclear force, denouncing a recent joint pledge by the United States, South Korea and Japan for its denuclearisation, according to state media KCNA.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Japanese Foreign Minister Iwaya Takeshi held talks on Saturday on the sidelines of a security conference in Munich and issued a statement, reaffirming their commitment to North Korea's complete denuclearisation.

Pledging to achieve North Korean disarmament has become one of the hollowest rituals of U.S. foreign policy. Each administration commits to something that almost everyone understands will never happen, and in so doing the U.S. ensures that there will be no progress toward more achievable diplomatic goals. All that these rote declarations do is to confirm the North Korean government in its view that the U.S. and its allies are incorrigibly hostile, and that in turn encourages them to expand their arsenal even more. Every time the U.S. and its allies repeat this demand, it just reminds everyone of the sterility and bankruptcy of their North Korea policy.