losing face

“Kim [Jung Il]’s nuclear test—though a small bang in a cave—may have finally wrecked his nuclear racket. South Korea’s ‘sunshine’ policy—intended to nudge North Korea toward modernity—has failed. Kim’s July missile volley ended Japan’s policy of public quiescence and private uneasiness. Likewise, U.S. diplomacy, aimed at ending North Korea’s emerging nuclear threat, has failed. The Clinton administration attempted to buy the nukes with economic carrots, the Bush administration (with its six-nation talks) tried to pry the nukes loose using a diplomatic ‘squeeze.’ Neither gambit worked, because both strategies to be effective relied on steady Chinese cooperation. Which is why the nuke test may boomerang on Pyongyang. North Korea’s July missile volley embarrassed China. The nuclear test appears to have galvanized it... Kim’s nuke test publicly exposes China’s failure—a major power’s failure on its own border. No one likes to lose face, but ‘face’ is particularly important in North Asian diplomacy.”

—Austin Bay