Topic: Situation in the Korean Peninsula
Country: Japan
Delegate Name: Sam Lazar
School: Flint Southwestern Classical Academy
Topic page: background guide and all position papers All Japan position papers GLIMUN 2010 committees
The Korean peninsula has been rocked by conflict, famine, unstable governments and controversy for decades. In recent years, the constant flux in the health of leader Kim Jung Il has been seriously detrimental to the health of the country as a whole. Policies haven’t been allowed to pass or be upheld while he is ill and the country is suffering as a result. At the same time, his old policies have become outdated and are no longer keeping the nation in good condition. The Songun, or “Military First”, policy puts the military ahead of civilians and that’s where most of the nation’s resources go. This greedy allocation of resources toward a minimal percentage of the population has become detrimental to the rest of the country, helping to sustain the constant food shortages that Korea faces. This, along with Korea’s less than spotless record of human rights violations, must be addressed.
Next, there is much to talk about regarding North Korea’s apparent disregard for international protocol on nuclear weapons and missile testing. The Six-Party talks were intended to establish international peace by forming an agreement about non-nuclear proliferation and shutting down North Korea’s secretive nuclear programs. North Korea showed a palpable disregard for the progression of this protocol by withdrawing from the talks and reestablishing their nuclear programs including the testing of a nuclear warhead in April of 2009.
Japan believes that several things need to be done posthaste in the Korean Peninsula. First of all, new policies to ensure proper care to all citizens must be introduced, and the Songun policy must be abolished. Then, we must work to form a peaceful agreement on nuclear protocol to entrench an international standard for nuclear proliferation. If this can be done, our world will move into easier, less worrisome times and international relations will strengthen and improve.
