US failed to intimidate North Korea by threats: Analyst

The United States has taken a realistic position towards North Korea after it failed to intimidate Pyongyang through pressure and threats, says a scholar of international relations in New York.

“I think this is a recognition that pressure and threats do not work,” said Professor James Petras. “I think North Korea is very firm. North Korea is developing closer ties with China and Russia.”

Asked to comment on US President Barack Obama’s latest remarks about Washington’s willingness to negotiate with Pyongyang, the professor told Press TV that “the South Koreans and the US recognized that North Korea is a legitimate interlocutor.”

Obama told a joint press conference with South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Friday that "we are prepared to have a serious conversation about denuclearization,' it's fair to say we'll be right there at the table."

North Korea is under UN sanctions over launching rockets considered by the US and South Korea as ballistic missiles aimed at delivering nuclear warheads, but Pyongyang says its numerous missile tests seek to boost defense capabilities in the face of enemy threats.

Petras said the US and South Korea have recognized that “further tensions on the border and military exercises are not going to intimidate the government [of North Korea].”

He further said, “Washington is adopting a realistic position as it did toward Iran and Cuba and I think this is a step forward.”

The United States has more than 28,000 troops deployed in South Korea, which has remained technically at war with its northern neighbor since the 1950-1953 Korean War ended in an armistice, rather than a peace treaty.

Tensions heightened at the heavily militarized border between the two Koreas in August after two South Korean soldiers were critically wounded by North Korean mines allegedly placed in the demilitarized zone between the two countries.

North Korea accuses the US of plotting with regional allies to topple its government. Pyongyang says it will not relinquish its nuclear deterrence unless the US ends its hostile policy toward North Korea and dissolves the US-led UN command in South Korea.